Preparing for the new outpatient reimbursement system.

The Health Care Financing Administration is expected to soon introduce a prospective payment method for reimbursement of hospital-based outpatient services provided to Medicare recipients. This payment system most likely will make use of an outpatient classification system based on ambulatory patient groups (APGs). Although the details of the new ambulatory payment system have not yet been finalized, healthcare facilities should start planning for implementation.