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• 2014 SNF Proposed Rule Analysis: Revising and rebasing the SNF market basket

  CMS issued its annual proposed rule featuring payment updates for SNFs in 2014, which proposes revising and rebasing the SNF market basket. Do you understand what this proposal means? Let’s breakdown what this revising and rebasing really means to SNFs.

• Q/A: How should we report irradiated blood products?

  Q: We have patients who have received a lot of blood and now the orders are for irradiated blood. We have been doing this in-house and our radiology department has been generating a charge. We just received a claim rejection for the combination of CPT® code 86945 (irradiation of blood product, each unit) and P9040 (red blood cells, leukocytes reduced, irradiated, each unit). We changed it to CPT 86945 and P9021 (red blood cells, each unit), but this was rejected for unbundling. How should we be reporting irradiated packed cells?

• Hospitals moving toward care teams

  Nearly three-quarters of hospitals are implementing team-based care, according to a recent survey from the American Hospital Association (AHA). Common roles included in these teams are registered nurses, physicians, social workers, pharmacists, physical therapists, and nutritionists and dieticians. The AHA noted that hospitals can use multidisciplinary care teams to effectively deliver primary care. Of those hospitals who are implementing care teams, nearly half are implementing them throughout the facility.  

  Source: AHA News Now

• Advanced practice nurses shouldn’t be left behind in meaningful use journey

  It's critical that nurse practitioners and physician assistants follow the lead of physicians and other healthcare providers in the transition to meaningful use of EHRs.

• CMS seeks public comment on defining QIO service areas

  CMS is looking for provider input to decide how they should best organize Medicare Quality Improvement Organization (QIO) contractors. Learn more about what CMS is requesting and what they want to do with this feedback.

• Keep an eye on compliance

  How robust is your facility’s compliance program? When did you last update it? Do you know how well it’s working? Several healthcare facilities have been hit with fines for attempting to defraud Medicare. Make sure you aren’t next on the list.