title: Final APC rule soothes critics--but experts warn there's hard work ahead.
abstract: While the Health Care Financing Administration's newly finalized outpatient prospective payment system may not cost hospitals as much as some originally had thought, several concerns remain. Chief among these for quality managers are the prospect of increased claims denials and restrictive guidelines regarding which procedures will be covered when performed in the outpatient setting.
mesh_terms: D000553:Ambulatory Care / Q000145:classification* / Q000191:economics; D014487:Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, U.S.; D016344:Medicare Part A; D010044:Outpatient Clinics, Hospital / Q000191:economics*; D011445:Prospective Payment System; D014481:United States