Case Management

Mastering Medicare's Important Message

Case Management Monthly, February 1, 2009

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Although many facilities struggle with delivering the Important Message (IM) from Medicare as part of the admitting and discharging process, some have it down to a science. Learning from such facilities may help your organization educate patients and increase compliance.

Timing is critical when it comes to delivering the IM. CMS’ guidelines state that the first IM must be delivered at or near admission but no later than two days following the date of admission.

“Medicare doesn’t count the day of admission as day one,” says June Stark, RN, BSN, MEd, director of case management and quality support services at Tufts Medical Center in Boston. “The IM needs to be given on the second full day. For example, if a patient is admitted on the seventh day of the month, the IM needs to be given by the ninth.”

 

This is an excerpt from a member only article. To read the article in its entirety, please login or subscribe to Case Management Monthly.

Comments

1 comments on “Mastering Medicare's Important Message ”

Jack Dumlao (9/14/2011 at 1:55 PM)
What happens if a medicare advantage health plan contracts with a tertiary center but the contracted center fails to issue the medicare im to medicare advantage patients for a long period of time ? How is this monitored by cms, does the contracted facility need to "self report" the non compliance ? What remediation plans are needed to bring back compliance ? Are there penalties for a facility failing to issue IM for long periods of time ?

 

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