Healthcare IT Blog

Healthcare Blog

The latest in all things RCM, Electronic Health Records, Radiology Information Systems, Practice Management, Medical Billing, Value-Based Care, & Healthcare IT.

Jim O'Neill

As the company’s Laboratory Services Business Development Manager, Jim has 30 years’ experience in LIS and financial systems including 20 years as the owner of CSS (Avalon LIS). With a Bachelor’s degree in information technology from Rowan University, Jim has worked / consulted with over 500 labs in the US and internationally in improving their LIS and financial solutions. Jim is genuinely people-oriented and civic-minded; he’s the former Mayor of Northfield NJ and is currently on the town’s council.

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Medical Billing / RCM | RCM | Laboratory

By: Jim O'Neill
August 12th, 2025

Lab directors know the pressure. Reimbursement rates are falling, denials are rising, and the administrative load of keeping a lab financially healthy grows heavier each year. The right laboratory billing solutions don’t just handle claims—they actively improve the lab’s financial performance, compliance posture, and operational efficiency.

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Medical Billing / RCM | RCM | Laboratory

By: Jim O'Neill
July 21st, 2025

As we hit the midpoint of 2025, laboratories across the country are facing a critical question:

ebook-importance-of-PE

The Importance of Patient Engagement: Why They - And You - Need It

Learn why patient engagement is a necessity and how you can master it within your practice.

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Medical Billing / RCM | Laboratory

By: Jim O'Neill
July 17th, 2025

Diagnostic labs operate at the intersection of science, regulation, and financial complexity. In today’s climate of razor-thin margins and heightened payer scrutiny, effective lab billing services are no longer optional—they’re fundamental to lab survival and scalability.

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Medical Billing / RCM | RCM | Laboratory

By: Jim O'Neill
July 15th, 2025

The regulatory landscape for clinical laboratories is rapidly evolving. With CMS increasing improper payment audits, MACs tightening enforcement, and commercial payers revising medical necessity and frequency rules, 2025 is shaping up to be one of the most compliance-intensive years ever for lab billing.

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Medical Billing / RCM | RCM | Laboratory

By: Jim O'Neill
July 10th, 2025

For clinical laboratories, time is money—literally. When claims take 72 hours or longer to reach the payer, the revenue cycle slows, aging AR builds, and downstream denials increase. In an environment where margins are shrinking and payers are tightening scrutiny, slow claims submission is a silent killer of cash flow.

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Medical Billing / RCM | RCM | Laboratory

By: Jim O'Neill
July 3rd, 2025

For labs, the margin between profitability and loss often comes down to billing. Lab services are reimbursed at lower rates than ever, yet the cost of doing business keeps rising. Between complex payer rules, coding nuances, and frequent denials, it’s easy to lose thousands per month without realizing it.

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Medical Billing / RCM | RCM | Laboratory

By: Jim O'Neill
July 1st, 2025

At a time when labs are operating on tight margins, revenue leakage is more dangerous than ever. Clinical laboratories, particularly those specializing in pathology, toxicology, molecular diagnostics, and genetic testing, are losing 20% to 40% of total billable revenue—and often don’t even know it.

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Medical Billing / RCM | AI | Laboratory

By: Jim O'Neill
April 8th, 2025

Today’s overall healthcare landscape – including laboratories – is driven by data, speed, and accuracy. That’s why artificial intelligence (AI) has rapidly emerged as a transformative force in laboratory billing, helping to streamline administrative tasks, improve efficiency, and optimize revenue cycle performance.

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Medical Billing / RCM | RCM | Laboratory

By: Jim O'Neill
December 4th, 2024

Laboratories that offer specialized services such as molecular testing and Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) encounter unique challenges that demand equally specialized solutions.

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Medical Billing / RCM

By: Jim O'Neill
December 9th, 2020

COVID-19 has produced fertile ground for hundreds of labs that are opening, hoping to ride the testing wave. But the fertile soil in and of itself doesn’t necessarily produce a successful crop. It requires thought, attention, and TLC for the planting to be fruitful.