ZOLL Data Systems

Prior Auth Denials Are Up: Here’s How To Protect Profit and Patients

Dec 20, 2024

1 min read

The prior authorization (PA) process healthcare providers endure is a story of unintended consequences. Created as a utilization management...

How Emergency Medicine Billers Can Break the Claim Denial and Rejection Cycle

Dec 17, 2024

1 min read

In the pressure-cooker environment of emergency medicine, providers are often operating without the staff, time, and information they need....

Podcast: 5 Ways Providers Can Improve Revenue Capture

Dec 16, 2024

1 min read

Since 2012, the Kaiser Family Foundation reported that the average annual deductible for workers who are enrolled in their employer's...

3 Steps EMS Agencies Can Take To Prepare for the End of Virginia’s Free ePCR Services

Dec 13, 2024

2 min read

The State of Virginia Office of Emergency Medical Services (OEMS) is ending its free ePCR services as of July 1, 2025. This means Virginia...

How To Spot RCM Shortcomings and Act To Improve Revenue Capture

Nov 22, 2024

1 min read

For many — if not most — healthcare providers, collecting patient demographics, insurance information, copays, and deductibles prior to...

Black Book Research Ranks ZOLL Billing the #1 Insurance Discovery Solution

Nov 14, 2024

1 min read

ZOLL® Data Systems has received top honors in Black Book’s annual Finance and Revenue Cycle Management survey for the second year in a row....

How Hospitals Can Improve Patient Throughput, Streamline Discharge, and Prevent Readmissions

Nov 13, 2024

1 min read

An estimated 25-30% of total healthcare spend in the U.S. can be traced to inefficient patient throughput, delayed access to treatment,...

How an Air Medical Transport Company Broke Net Cash Collection Records With RCM Optimization Tools

Nov 12, 2024

1 min read

When Classic Air Medical (Classic Air) looked to upgrade their billing software, they had two goals in mind: 1) restructure the billing...

How To Stop the Surge in Self-pay Write-offs by Finding Hidden Coverage You Can Bill Today

Nov 6, 2024

1 min read

For years, healthcare providers have witnessed explosive growth in the number of patients who are self-paying or on high-deductible health...

What To Know About Insurance Eligibility, Discovery, and Verification

Oct 29, 2024

1 min read

The healthcare industry is rife with insider acronyms and language. Take, for example, the terminology used to describe various processes...

How Practice Management Companies Can Use RCM Optimization Tools To Help Customers Get Paid Faster

Oct 11, 2024

1 min read

As payment models shift, and the healthcare industry becomes increasingly complex, efficient revenue cycle management (RCM) practices are...

Air and Ground RCM Vendor Slashed Self-pay Volume and Increased Revenue With RCM Optimization Technology

Oct 4, 2024

1 min read

Before Golden Hour® began using ZOLL AR Boost®, their workflows consisted of manual efforts to verify patient demographics and insurance...

Fire Departments Can Win More Grant Funding: Here’s How

Sep 27, 2024

1 min read

Competition, stress, and resources — these three words most likely come to mind when fire departments think about writing proposals to...

What To Consider When Making the Transition From On-premises to Cloud-based EMS Software

Sep 16, 2024

1 min read

For emergency medical service (EMS) organizations, making the jump from on-premises software to cloud-based software comes with a lot of...

5 Things Fire Departments Need To Know About the NFIRS to NERIS Transition

Aug 16, 2024

2 min read

The U.S. Fire Administration (USFA) has recently led the development and launch of a beta version of the new interoperable fire information...

How To Use Automated RCM Tools and Healthcare Market Intelligence To Power Reimbursement

Jun 26, 2024

1 min read

In the hectic moments on scene, common obstacles arise that affect an EMS organization’s revenue cycle management (RCM) process. Some...

You Can Protect Revenue Integrity: Tips for Ground and Air Ambulance Billers Navigating Medicare

Jun 11, 2024

2 min read

Medicare can cause a lot of headaches for air and ground emergency medical service (EMS) billers. What should, in theory, be a...

How EMS Teams Can Reduce the Cognitive Workload Within the Pediatric Chain of Survival

May 17, 2024

1 min read

Emergency medical service (EMS) providers play a huge role in the chain of survival for pediatric patient outcomes. Approximately 1.14...

The Time is Now: Prevent Bad Debt With Automated Deductible Monitoring and Right-day Billing

May 8, 2024

1 min read

High-deductible insurance plans are continuing to grow in number, and patients often don’t meet their annual deductibles until much later...

Simple Steps Make All the Difference for Optimizing ePCRs for Billing

May 3, 2024

1 min read

It’s not a rare occurrence for patient care documentation to have many holes, inaccuracies, and deficiencies that make submitting clean...

Supporting Better Operational and Financial Performance With EMS-Hospital Collaboration

Apr 19, 2024

1 min read

A significant portion of healthcare spend can be traced to inefficient patient throughput, delayed access to treatment, and excess length...

Rescue Squad Adopts an Intuitive CAD Solution To Ramp up Dispatch and Improve Data Visualization

Apr 3, 2024

1 min read

Princeton Rescue Squad (Princeton) was struggling with their complex, pen-and-paper process for dispatch. The manual method made data...

Make This the Year You Optimize Accounts Receivable and Capture Maximum Revenue

Feb 20, 2024

1 min read

A new year means new opportunities to set goals, reevaluate current workflows, and make the necessary changes to enhance your accounts...

Healthcare RCM Platform Delivers 10% More Collections for Customer Using Real-time Insurance Discovery

Jan 31, 2024

1 min read

Inovalon, a provider of cloud-based healthcare clinical and economic solutions, wanted to help their collections agency customer (serving...

EMS-to-Hospital Handoffs Can Be a More Streamlined Experience

Jan 25, 2024

1 min read

The transfer of care from emergency medical service (EMS) to the hospital emergency departments (ED) is often a chaotic process.i Some of...

Your Agency Isn’t Getting Paid: Here’s What You Can Do

Jan 23, 2024

1 min read

You might be surprised at how many billing challenges are common for every agency. Issues that cause payment delays or denials are the same...

5 Ways to Achieve Revenue Integrity and Avoid Payment Delays

Jan 5, 2024

2 min read

Revenue integrity is the goal of every billing department. If an agency can achieve this goal, its documentation will stand up to the...

Providers: Take Back Power During Payer Contract Negotiations

Dec 19, 2023

1 min read

Covering reimbursement rates, medical necessity, credentialing, and prior authorization (PA), payer-provider contracts are key to emergency...

Meet the New ZOLL Dispatch and ZOLL Respond CAD Solution

Dec 14, 2023

1 min read

When seconds count, it’s imperative that call takers and dispatchers have the right tools in place to get the optimal level of care out to...

Providers Can Even the Playing Field During Open Negotiations – Here’s How

Nov 28, 2023

1 min read

Emergency medical service (EMS) providers are facing ongoing challenges when it comes to receiving the maximum reimbursement rate from...

E-Care Uses Full Cloud-based EMS Solution Suite to Streamline Operations

Nov 15, 2023

1 min read

Based in Key Largo, Florida, E-Care Ambulance (E-Care) launched as a small, but fast-growing service offering BLS, ALS, and critical care...

Data Interoperability Drives Better Coordination of Care in Emergent Patient Transitions

Nov 13, 2023

1 min read

Everything that happens in an ambulance has a huge impact on what happens to a patient in a hospital. Unfortunately, handoffs between...

Proactive EMS-Hospital Communication Better Prepares Providers for Faster, Safer Care

Nov 8, 2023

1 min read

The data obtained by emergency medical technicians (EMTs) on-scene sometimes is not translated into optimal hospital care during handoffs....

Collect More Revenue Faster: The Pivotal Role of Clear, Concise, and Complete Documentation

Oct 17, 2023

1 min read

Electronic patient care reports (ePCRs) should paint a vivid picture; if it is not documented, it didn’t happen! Documentation is the key...

Gain More Confidence and a Stronger Position During Open Negotiations and IDR

Oct 10, 2023

1 min read

Since the No Surprises Act (NSA) has gone into effect, emergency medicine (EM) physicians and emergency medical service (EMS) air ambulance...

How the Prior Authorization Process Tests Patients, Providers, and Profits

Aug 30, 2023

1 min read

The prior authorization (PA) process was created as a utilization management tool for insurance companies and patients. However, it has...

How Bi-directional Data Exchange Delivers Insights That Improve the Continuum of Care

Jul 25, 2023

2 min read

Access to comprehensive patient data throughout the continuum of care is a major interest for multiple stakeholders. Emergency department...

Mayo Clinic Ambulance Leverages Data From an Integrated Solution Suite to Improve Patient Care — ZOLL Pulse Award Winner

Jun 29, 2023

1 min read

Mayo Clinic Ambulance (Mayo Clinic) pursued an integrated platform that would allow them to advance patient care, medicine, and service,...

St. Luke’s Emergency & Transport Services Increases Staff Productivity and Boosts Morale with Integrated Solution Suite — ZOLL Pulse Award Winner

Jun 28, 2023

1 min read

St. Luke’s Emergency & Transport Services (SLETS) needed to meet a demand of 25,000 yearly patients accounting for 5,000 transport requests...

Virtua Improves Response Time, Reduces Spend, and Grows Their Health System — ZOLL Pulse Award Winner

Jun 27, 2023

1 min read

With two separate, siloed counties to manage, Virtua Health Patient Logistics (Virtua) found an opportunity to better control its data and...

JFK EMS Cultivates a Culture of Quality Care Through Seamless Feedback — ZOLL Pulse Award Winner

Jun 26, 2023

1 min read

JFK University Medical Center (JFK EMS) needed a patient documentation software solution to better support their QA/QI processes. With a...

How Emergency Medicine Providers Can Mitigate Self-Pay Collection Challenges

Apr 26, 2023

1 min read

Across the country, emergency medicine providers are strapped by workforce gaps and swamped by a rising tide of patient visits to the...

Tips for Making Compliance with Medicare Ground Ambulance Data Collection Requirements Easier

Apr 20, 2023

1 min read

With reporting deadlines looming for the Medicare Ground Ambulance Data Collection System (GADCS), it’s of vital importance to understand...

Strategies and Tips for Capturing Optimal EMS Reimbursement

Mar 31, 2023

1 min read

When EMS agencies maximize reimbursement revenue from patient transports, they help keep their organization financially strong so that they...

6 Ways to Power Up Your Clinical, Operational, and Financial Performance at ZOLL Summit 2023

Mar 27, 2023

3 min read

ZOLL® Summit is back this June and is bigger and better than ever. As our largest and longest running educational event of the year, ZOLL...

How a Fire Department Used the New ZOLL emsCharts App to Solve Problems with Charting in the Field

Mar 21, 2023

2 min read

Paper-based charting in the field is still the norm for EMS and Fire medics. Logging into a browser-based ePCR system simply isn’t...

Tips for Managing the Surge of Patients About To Lose Medicaid Coverage

Feb 28, 2023

1 min read

What happens when millions of people lose healthcare coverage in one year? That’s the question healthcare providers are apprehensively...

Proven Ways EMS Agencies Can Minimize Impact and Maximize Reimbursement From Self-pay Accounts

Jan 27, 2023

2 min read

“Self-pay accounts are leaving EMS agencies “hanging by their fingernails.” So says Maggie Adams, President of EMS Financial Services.It’s...

How To Navigate the 2023 AMA Evaluation and Management Changes Like a Pro

Jan 20, 2023

1 min read

Understanding recent, nuanced changes to American Medical Association (AMA) coding standards will be essential for maintaining financially...

Should Your Agency Bring EMS Billing In-house?

Jan 16, 2023

2 min read

Is it worth it to bring your EMS billing in-house? Sooner or later, every organization that outsources its billing and collections...

5 Things You Need to Know About NEMSIS v3.5

Jan 11, 2023

2 min read

As the new year begins, most states are preparing to, or already have, released their National EMS Information System (NEMSIS) v3.5...

EDI, AI, Robots, and Machine Learning: Demystifying Healthcare Software Automation

Dec 20, 2022

1 min read

Facing an increasing number and complexity of claims, many healthcare organizations are hoping that software automation can provide billing...

Technology Fills the Revenue Cycle Skills Gap and Enhances Financial Performance

Nov 29, 2022

1 min read

Ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs) have had to weather multiple storms in recent years. First, when procedure volume dropped during the...

6 Steps to a Better Patient Experience Through Financial Transparency

Oct 31, 2022

3 min read

When patients receive attention and care on the financial portion of medical care, along with quality patient care, it can reduce stress,...

CAD, Comms Center and ePCR Data Provide Critical Insights Needed to Reform EMS Processes and Protocols

Sep 29, 2022

1 min read

The EMS industry is experiencing unprecedented challenges, including staffing shortages and unsustainable revenue models. Matt Zavadsky,...

Using Data to Understand Pre-pandemic Enrollment Patterns and Protect At-risk Patients During Medicaid Redetermination

Jul 28, 2022

2 min read

When the COVID-19 public health emergency (PHE) expires, it will be a pivotal time for providers, payers, and patients. As state Medicaid...

Golder Ranch Fire District Increases Collections by 5% and Saves 30 Hours Per Month of Staff Time — ZOLL Pulse Award Winner

Jun 10, 2022

1 min read

Golder Ranch Fire District (GRFD) leadership wanted to ensure that they were maximizing the functionality of RescueNet® Billing software...

City of Allentown EMS Achieves Exceptional Financial Performance and Workflow Efficiency with Move to Cloud-based Billing Software — ZOLL Pulse Award Winner

Jun 9, 2022

1 min read

City of Allentown EMS (Allentown EMS) management had a vision for moving to a cloud-based billing solution to support the growing need to...

UMC EMS Modernizes Crew Communications, Sharpens Response Times, and Reduces Operating Costs — ZOLL Pulse Award Winner

Jun 8, 2022

1 min read

University Medical Center’s (UMC EMS)service area has been steadily growing, and agency leadership recognized the need for a...

TransCare Improves Patient Care and Access to Wellness Services While Reducing Unnecessary 911 Calls — ZOLL Pulse Award Winner

Jun 7, 2022

1 min read

TransCare Medical Transportation Services (TransCare), a division of the Crisis Center of Tampa Bay, has a mission “to ensure that no one...

Mutual Aid EMS Deploys New Integrated Software System to Improve Response Times, Operations, and Compliance — ZOLL Pulse Award Winner

Jun 6, 2022

1 min read

Mutual Aid EMS operates 14 ambulance stations across a 924 square-mile service area. Agency leadership saw tremendous opportunity to...

How Collecting Payment for Inspections is Changing the Fire Industry

May 10, 2022

1 min read

In a recent webinar, Pasco County Fire and Rescue (PCFR) Fire Marshal, Justin Frum, discussed how his team overcame the challenges...

Purpose-Built, Integrated Platforms Are the Future of Telemedicine

Apr 26, 2022

1 min read

Telemedicine is becoming standard practice for many healthcare providers. According to Dr. David Ernst, president of telemedicine innovator...

Automated Demographic Verification Should Be Every Laboratory’s First Line of Defense Against Revenue Leakage

Apr 12, 2022

1 min read

Many laboratories face financial challenges due to persistent downward pricing pressure, making it essential to capture payment on all...

Compliance Accreditation and Patient Safety with Pre-hospital Emergency Care

Mar 18, 2022

1 min read

In Emergency Departments (ED) and Intensive Care Units (ICU) in the U.S., more than half of critically ill patients arrive via ambulance....

Strategies for Reducing Payment Uncertainty With Less Effort and More Satisfaction

Feb 24, 2022

2 min read

In a recent webinar hosted by Healthcare Business Management Association (HBMA), AR optimization expert, Juli Smith, discussed the growing...

Conquering Billing Challenges Early in the Patient Encounter

Feb 23, 2022

1 min read

Healthcare providers are striving to meet rising demand in their communities but are feeling the burden of prior authorization get heavier....

Billing Survival Strategies: Medicare Advantage and Medicaid Managed Care

Jan 20, 2022

1 min read

(2 min read) As the demand for Medicare Advantage and Medicaid managed care grows, so do the rules and regulations — which means more...

Short-staffed ASCs Can Ease the Burden of Prior Authorization and Do More With Less

Jan 18, 2022

1 min read

(2 min read) Ambulatory Surgical Centers (ASCs) do an exceptional job of collecting patient deductibles, co-pays, and other patient...

How and Why Bringing EMS Billing In-house Could Be Right for You

Jan 4, 2022

1 min read

If you currently outsource your billing and collections functions and are considering bringing them in-house, you’ll want to assess whether...

Progressive Communications Centers Can Improve the Patient Experience and Transform Outdated EMS Economics

Jan 3, 2022

1 min read

(2 min read) The current emergency medical services (EMS) economic model follows a pay-per-transport system. Insurance agencies and...

Labs of All Sizes Can Benefit From Employing Revenue-enhancing Best Practices

Nov 8, 2021

1 min read

(2 min read) The COVID-19 lockdown caused a rapid drop-off in routine labs and specialty testing. Even those that were processing COVID...

Complete Patient Documentation Earns More Revenue and Mitigates Liability Risk

Nov 4, 2021

2 min read

(3 min read) During the 2021 ZOLL Summit Series ePCR & Fire event, quality assurance analyst and clinical educator, Jason Haag, spoke about

Custom Reports Inform Your Quality Improvement Initiatives With Data-driven Insight

Oct 19, 2021

3 min read

(5 min read) If you learn to leverage the custom reports function for your ePCR system, you can stay focused on critical issues while...

The History of NEMSIS 3.5 and How a Data-driven Industry Saves More Lives

Aug 17, 2021

3 min read

The Evolution of NEMSIS, the National EMS Information System (3 min read) The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) built...

5 Critical Medicare Updates Every EMS Agency Should Know

Jun 30, 2021

3 min read

(5 min read) For many years, EMS agencies and advocacy groups like the American Ambulance Associates (AAA) have been battling for adequate...

Understanding How to Get Paid by the Department of Veterans Affairs for Ambulance Transports

Jun 24, 2021

2 min read

(3 min read) Getting reimbursement for ambulance transport from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) can be challenging. For...

Top 6 Tips for Optimizing EMS Reimbursement, Care Quality, and Staffing

Jun 23, 2021

3 min read

(4 min read) Technology is transforming how the healthcare industry manages revenue, reimbursements. Claims processing is central to any...

ZOLL® Pulse Award Winner Helps Tucson Agency Increase Payments by 12%

May 27, 2021

3 min read

(3 min read) The ZOLL Pulse Awards, first launched at the 2017 ZOLL Summit, recognizes professionals who improve operational efficiencies...

ZOLL® Pulse Award Winner Helps Florida Agency Achieve Higher Levels of Operational Performance

May 21, 2021

3 min read

(5 min read) The ZOLL Pulse Awards, first launched at the 2017 ZOLL Summit, recognizes professionals who improve operational efficiencies...

Spring Cleaning for Your EMS Billing

May 14, 2021

1 min read

(2 min read) The COVID-19 pandemic has made it more important than ever for EMS agency billers and managers to conduct their annual reviews...

Tools and Strategies to Improve Revenue and Reduce Administrative Burden

May 6, 2021

1 min read

(2 min read) “One overarching thing I think that we are struggling with today as healthcare providers is payment uncertainty. We really...

Aggregating COVID-19 Data for a More Holistic View of the Pandemic

Apr 20, 2021

2 min read

(3 min read) In March 2021, Greg Howard, Director of National Interoperability Sales at ZOLL Medical Corporation, and Mario Sanchez, ...

The Patient’s Financial Experience: Trends, Innovations, and Challenges

Mar 11, 2021

1 min read

Juli Forde, Director of Strategic Partnerships, AR Optimization at ZOLL® Data Systems partnered with Jonathan Wiik, Principal, Healthcare...

How Emergency Medicine Physicians Can Increase Revenue in 2021 With Medicare PFS Cuts Looming

Jan 21, 2021

1 min read

In August 2020, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) released the proposed Medicare annual payment rule for 2021. This rule...

Reducing Emergency Department Days Sales Outstanding (DSO) in 2021

Jan 19, 2021

1 min read

In 2020, emergency department volume reductions and an increase in uninsured patients have caused financial ripple effects through the...

The Cash Pay Lie and Other Costly Realities

Jan 15, 2021

1 min read

In an effort to maintain or increase patient volume and reduce collections costs, physician groups increasingly are offering substantial...

Participating in the ET3 Model? Here’s What You Need to Know About NEMSIS Reporting Requirements

Dec 22, 2020

3 min read

With thousands of Emergency Medical Services (EMS) agencies throughout the U.S., there are inevitably hundreds or even thousands of...

Billing Medicare and Private Payers for Telehealth Visits: What to Expect Post-Public Health Emergency

Dec 14, 2020

1 min read

The American Medical Association (AMA) and many other organizations are actively advocating for continued support of telehealth...

What’s Next? More EMS Billing in the COVID Environment

Nov 13, 2020

2 min read

Like all other providers in the healthcare ecosystem, emergency medical services (EMS) agencies have been impacted in many ways by the...

EMS Billing in the COVID-19 Environment

Oct 13, 2020

2 min read

(2 min read) In April 2020,the National Association of Emergency Medical Technicians (NAEMT) conducted a survey to assess the early impact...

Offering Patient-centric Payment Plans Increases Provider Collections by More than 11%

Oct 6, 2020

1 min read

(2 min read) Most healthcare providers report offering patient payment plans. The plans are popular; approximately half of consumers state...

Learning from Aviation Safety: Part 2 - Checklists

Jul 5, 2018

3 min read

In 1935, a fatal airplane crash changed the aviation safety world. It was at Wright Field near Dayton, Ohio, when the Boeing aircraft...

Learning from Aviation Safety: Part 1 – Crew Resource Management

Jun 12, 2018

4 min read

Has this ever happened to you: You’re the new person starting your first day at a service with a seasoned medic. You get your first call of...

Reducing Preventable Crashes with Road Safety

May 16, 2018

1 min read

Leonard Callier, along with a team from South Texas Emergency Care Foundation (STEC), was able to significantly reduce preventable crashes...

Want to Continue to Cultivate Your Culture of Safety? Hire for Behavior

Mar 15, 2018

2 min read

EMS or Fire organizations that have committed, or are planning to develop, a culture of safety have many challenges facing them. For the...

Are You Risking Lives When Trying to Save Lives?

Mar 1, 2018

4 min read

Personal experience certainly makes a believer out of you. While working for a former EMS agency, I was present to see firsthand what...

How to Monitor EMS Driver Performance

Jan 4, 2018

2 min read

Driver safety doesn’t just affect crews and passenger, it affects the entire community. With increased adrenalin, lights and sirens, and...

How to Prevent Tampering on Your Road Safety Device

Jul 13, 2017

2 min read

It’s not a matter of if; it’s matter of when. Tampering of any company-owned equipment is very serious, and the consequences can be...

Road Safety Enhancements Provide Greater Insight into Ambulance Safety

Apr 18, 2017

2 min read

In the April release of ZOLL Online, we’re introducing the new Road Safety Overview dashboard and an improved reporting experience. These...

12 Expenses to Consider When Calculating the Cost of an Ambulance Crash

Mar 28, 2017

2 min read

Reimbursements continue to be challenging in EMS, and the future unfortunately doesn’t paint a favorable outlook any time soon. While sound...

How to Improve Your EMS Agency's Safety Policy

Jan 24, 2017

1 min read

Executive, operation and safety leadership should make sure safety policies are reviewed annually and up-to-date. The New Year is an...

Lights & Sirens: What You Can Do to Evaluate & Reduce Risk

Oct 3, 2016

1 min read

The most unsafe aspect of working in EMS is being in an ambulance while it’s operating in a lights and sirens mode. The statistics have...

Is Prevention Addressing Driver Behavior or is it a Safe Vehicle Design?

Jul 20, 2015

2 min read

When it comes to ambulance safety, prevention is paramount. Is prevention addressing driver behavior or is it a safe vehicle design? From...

Ambulance Safety Policies Only Work if They Are Enforced

Jun 29, 2015

2 min read

How many times have you experienced when someone messes up, it’s inevitable that sooner or later a new policy is handed down. Now granted...

Safe Vehicle Operations: A Shift Toward a "Culture of Safety"

Jul 19, 2013

2 min read

Before the days of wearing personal protective equipment, safety consisted of protecting yourself from a combative patient or keeping your...

The Culture of Safety in Ambulance Operations

Dec 31, 2012

1 min read

There are many different aspects of safety in an EMS organization; vehicle operations, patient care and staff safety. By far the area that...

Carving Out Ambulance Crash Costs

Dec 13, 2012

1 min read

EMS providers face challenging revenue issues with reimbursement rates continuing to decline. Unfortunately expenses to operate are always...