Home Health & Hospice Articles by Topic: Compliance
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Homecare Direction, Issue 12, December 6, 2019
Agencies will soon be required to submit all claims using new Medicare beneficiary identifiers...
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Homecare Direction, Issue 12, December 6, 2019
If you haven’t suffered a breach of patient protected health information, don’t think...
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Homecare Direction, Issue 12, December 6, 2019
CMS is moving full steam ahead toward implementation of the Patient-Driven Groupings Model (PDGM...
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Homecare Direction, Issue 11, November 8, 2019
Agencies should take a close look at how they conduct competency evaluations to ensure compliance...
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Homecare Direction, Issue 11, November 8, 2019
Agencies should consider establishing processes for how to handle changes in a patient’s...
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Homecare Direction, Issue 11, November 8, 2019
Agencies will no longer be required to provide patients with a verbal notification of all their...
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Homecare Direction, Issue 11, November 8, 2019
In its final rule about lessening health care providers’ burden, CMS estimates providers will...
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Homecare Q&A, Issue 10, October 28, 2019
Under PDGM, when a patient is admitted to an acute care hospital, the agency will proceed with a...
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Homecare Q&A, Issue 10, October 28, 2019
The answer is yes, but the agency needs to make all reasonable attempts to receive a copy of the...
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Homecare Direction, Issue 10, October 11, 2019
The multi-million dollar settlements paid by Cottage Health and Touchstone Medical Imaging reveal...
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Homecare Direction, Issue 10, October 11, 2019
Agencies once again will be able to use pseudo-patients to conduct aide skill competency...
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Homecare Direction, Issue 10, October 11, 2019
After four years, a proposed rule and a deadline extension, CMS is finalizing conditions home...
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Homecare Q&A, Issue 9, September 23, 2019
If the patient does in fact leave the home, the patient may nevertheless be considered homebound...
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Homecare Direction, Issue 9, September 4, 2019
Home care providers should weigh options for providing more cost-effective therapy in 2020 under...
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Homecare Direction, Issue 9, September 4, 2019
As the Review Choice Demonstration (RCD) expands, agencies in Ohio and beyond should take note of...
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Homecare Direction, Issue 9, September 4, 2019
With the Patient-Driven Groupings Model (PDGM) launching on Jan. 1, 2020, agencies are recognizing...
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Homecare Q&A, Issue 8, August 26, 2019
Yes. It’s kind of complex the way billing is going to work. If the clinician conducts a SOC...
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Homecare Q&A, Issue 8, August 26, 2019
Agencies should follow whatever would be the most compliant process for the situation.
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Homecare Q&A, Issue 8, August 26, 2019
It’s going to be important that coders get familiar with what a valid diagnosis is in PDGM...
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Homecare Direction, Issue 8, August 7, 2019
CMS is seeking to reduce agency payments even more than expected to account for assumed behavioral...
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Homecare Direction, Issue 8, August 7, 2019
With a new payment model set to take effect in less than six months, agencies cannot afford to...
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Homecare Direction, Issue 8, August 7, 2019
Evaluate cash flow to see how your agency would perform if requests for anticipated payment (RAPs...
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Homecare Q&A, Issue 7, July 29, 2019
Unfortunately this is an instance of where we have conflicting regulations.
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Homecare Q&A, Issue 7, July 29, 2019
Since this is a condition for payment, then the patient must give informed consent prior to...
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Homecare Q&A, Issue 7, July 29, 2019
As far as paperwork for your agency, you will need to see if the next qualifying clinician would...
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Homecare Direction, Issue 7, July 8, 2019
When preparing for the Patient-Driven Groupings Model (PDGM), one crucial step agencies should...
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Homecare Q&A, Issue 6, June 28, 2019
Intake could say to the referral source, “Does the patient have any neuropathy? Does the...
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Homecare Q&A, Issue 6, June 28, 2019
I’ve been telling people to stay in today’s world, which is PPS, while balancing moving...
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Homecare Direction, Issue 6, June 6, 2019
Agencies seeking to pass CMS’ Review Choice Demonstration (RCD) with flying colors should...
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Homecare Direction, Issue 6, June 6, 2019
CMS is conducting data analysis to prepare for possible introduction of star ratings on Hospice...
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Homecare Q&A, Issue 5, May 31, 2019
There were some things in the patient rights requirements that were new, that were different.
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Homecare Q&A, Issue 5, May 31, 2019
You have a specific question about the scope of physician orders and co-signatures.
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Homecare Q&A, Issue 5, May 31, 2019
There appears to be fairly strong support in the Congress to pass the bill.
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Homecare Q&A, Issue 5, May 31, 2019
You note that when looking at the AHC measure on CASPER, you have data that is risk-adjusted and...
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Homecare Direction, Issue 5, May 8, 2019
You’ve created a compliance program, but are you getting the most out of it? A hospice or...
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Homecare Q&A, Issue 4, April 18, 2019
You note agencies' struggles with hospitalizations.
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Homecare Q&A, Issue 4, April 18, 2019
You note that the importance of OASIS-D item M1033 (Risk for hospitalization) increases even more...
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Homecare Q&A, Issue 4, April 18, 2019
A couple years ago, the new administration came in with a desire to simplify life for providers.
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Homecare Q&A, Issue 4, April 18, 2019
You note that your agency is preparing for PDGM.
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Homecare Q&A, Issue 4, April 18, 2019
We’re going to keep seeing agencies cited for issues involving organization and...
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Homecare Direction, Issue 4, April 8, 2019
While experts agree it’s important to start preparing now for the Patient-Driven Groupings...
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Homecare Direction, Issue 4, April 8, 2019
Education and communication are the keys to improving timely initiation of care for agencies...
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Homecare Direction, Issue 4, April 8, 2019
After more than a year of legal back-and-forth, home care agencies in New York can rest easy in the...
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Homecare Q&A, Issue 3, March 22, 2019
Root cause analysis still needs to be done at every hospital transfer because agencies will be able...
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Homecare Q&A, Issue 3, March 22, 2019
One is going to be the scheduling aspect. Getting out to the home within 24 to 48 hours is vital.
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Homecare Q&A, Issue 3, March 22, 2019
The revised CoPs don't give specific protocols for what a PIP must look like.
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Homecare Q&A, Issue 3, March 22, 2019
Those that are not in the value-based purchasing states really should pay attention to what...
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Homecare Q&A, Issue 3, March 22, 2019
The Home Health Conditions of Participation (CoPs) require the governing body approve all policies...
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Homecare Q&A, Issue 3, March 22, 2019
Are the clinicians moving the visits to another day during the week?
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Homecare Q&A, Issue 3, March 22, 2019
Therapy can provide Part B billing if patients are outpatient or even in their homes.
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Homecare Direction, Issue 3, March 6, 2019
In the short term, a new MLN Matters article announcing CMS will suppress payments associated with...
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Homecare Direction, Issue 3, March 6, 2019
A new change request from CMS implements the policies of the Patient-Driven Groupings Model (PDGM...
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Homecare Q&A, Issue 2, February 25, 2019
You note that CMS is adding “emerging infectious diseases” to the current definition of...
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Homecare Q&A, Issue 2, February 25, 2019
You say that your agency just learned that according to the revised CoPs, in rehabilitation...
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Homecare Q&A, Issue 2, February 25, 2019
The quality measure “drug regimen review conducted with follow-up for identified...
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Homecare Q&A, Issue 2, February 25, 2019
When the revised Home Health Conditions of Participation (CoPs) originally came out, there was an...
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Homecare Q&A, Issue 2, February 25, 2019
We are assessing and observing if we have an issue related to medical error.
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Homecare Q&A, Issue 2, February 25, 2019
Yes, it can be omitted from the plan of care.
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Homecare Direction, Issue 2, February 5, 2019
More agencies plan to focus on improving the rate of acute care hospitalizations than any other...
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Homecare Q&A, Issue 1, January 16, 2019
The most welcome changes to me are the removal of those coding items, M1011 (Inpatient diagnosis...
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Homecare Q&A, Issue 1, January 16, 2019
Face to Face is a Conditions of Payment requirement and is required for Medicare and Medicaid.
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Homecare Q&A, Issue 1, January 16, 2019
This scenario is not specifically addressed in the OASIS Q&As.
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Homecare Q&A, Issue 1, January 16, 2019
You explain that your agency is based in a rural area, and beginning this year the rural...
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Homecare Q&A, Issue 1, January 16, 2019
You note that your agency is considering shifting away from a pay-per visit model for clinicians...
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Homecare Q&A, Issue 1, January 16, 2019
G1024 (Authentication) is one of the more common standard-level deficiencies in 2018.
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Homecare Q&A, Issue 1, January 16, 2019
You asked whether agencies have a responsibility to train staff to identify whether patients are...
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Homecare Direction, Issue 1, January 4, 2019
Newly released data show a massive percentage of agencies participating in CMS’ targeted...
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Homecare Direction, Issue 1, January 4, 2019
As you might expect now that Democrats have taken control of the House and Republicans have...
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Homecare Q&A, Issue 17, December 17, 2018
Choose the pre-claim option.
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Homecare Q&A, Issue 17, December 17, 2018
Learning and implementing the feedback loop.
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Homecare Q&A, Issue 17, December 17, 2018
Hospital-based agencies are going to have more institutional admits than community admits.
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Homecare Q&A, Issue 17, December 17, 2018
First let’s go over how a PEP works.
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Homecare Direction, Issue 12, December 5, 2018
Agencies that wait until the last minute to prepare for the Patient-Driven Groupings Model (PDGM...
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Homecare Q&A, Issue 16, November 20, 2018
Here are some of the questions to ask.
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Homecare Q&A, Issue 16, November 20, 2018
For a final claim, (which is sent at the end of the 60-day period), there should be enough time to...
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Homecare Q&A, Issue 16, November 20, 2018
All payers must follow the Conditions of Participation, which require an update to the...
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Homecare Q&A, Issue 16, November 20, 2018
PDGM is designed to be budget neutral, but the impact on payment depends on type of provider and...
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Homecare Q&A, Issue 16, November 20, 2018
Often policies are written very well.
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Homecare Q&A, Issue 16, November 20, 2018
I’ve seen it go both ways.
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Homecare Q&A, Issue 16, November 20, 2018
It might not change. It might just intensify.
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Homecare Direction, Issue 11, November 5, 2018
While agencies have choices when it comes to which claim review option to select for CMS&rsquo...
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Homecare Q&A, Issue 15, October 19, 2018
The public use file is a file that is used by policymakers and researchers that review the...
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Homecare Direction, Issue 10, October 4, 2018
Ensure sound protocols are in place for how to respond when an employee alerts you that your...
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Homecare Direction, Issue 10, October 4, 2018
CMS is proposing to eliminate three requirements it has deemed “burdensome” for home...
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Homecare Direction, Issue 10, October 4, 2018
Nearly eight months after the revised Home Health Conditions of Participation (CoPs) took effect...
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Homecare Q&A, Issue 14, September 21, 2018
The 2019 proposed PPS rule references this concern in several areas.
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Homecare Q&A, Issue 14, September 21, 2018
CMS estimates the median length of days for request for anticipated payment (RAP) submission is 12...
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Homecare Q&A, Issue 14, September 21, 2018
CMS doesn't require Medicare Advantage plans to have a face-to-face document for home health.
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Homecare Q&A, Issue 14, September 21, 2018
In the scenario you describe, your agency admitted a patient when she was discharged home from the...
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Homecare Q&A, Issue 14, September 21, 2018
In the scenario you discuss, your agency had a patient that was a full admission to the hospital.
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Homecare Q&A, Issue 14, September 21, 2018
At this point, I would suggest you don't do anything drastic.
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Homecare Q&A, Issue 14, September 21, 2018
The demonstration gives an opportunity for providers and suppliers otherwise subject to the...
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Homecare Q&A, Issue 13, September 4, 2018
Does the patient require hours your agency is not providing, but should be?
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Homecare Q&A, Issue 13, September 4, 2018
You should have a policy in place that describes things like a bag barrier and how to clean your...
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Homecare Q&A, Issue 13, September 4, 2018
This is a difficult question to answer, not knowing your agency processes. But there are several...
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Homecare Q&A, Issue 13, September 4, 2018
In the scenario you discuss, your agency is in Indiana and are currently going through a federal...
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Homecare Q&A, Issue 13, September 4, 2018
In the scenario you discuss, the signing physician is also the MD certifying the patient for home...
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Homecare Q&A, Issue 13, September 4, 2018
In the scenario you discuss, your agency’s billing department reviews documentation before...
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Homecare Q&A, Issue 13, September 4, 2018
One portion of the proposed PPS rule seeks changes to have agencies list remote patient monitoring...
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Homecare Q&A, Issue 12, July 25, 2018
PDGM is going to be such a rapid cycle flurry of action.
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Homecare Q&A, Issue 12, July 25, 2018
We see inappropriate recertifications all over the place.
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Homecare Q&A, Issue 12, July 25, 2018
Once the wound is fully granulated and the wound surface is covered with epithelial tissue, the...
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Homecare Q&A, Issue 12, July 25, 2018
First determine if the POA is medical and if the patient is incapacitated.
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Homecare Q&A, Issue 12, July 25, 2018
It is up to clinicians to determine, in their clinical judgement, if the omission is a clinically...
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Homecare Q&A, Issue 12, July 25, 2018
APRAs cannot write orders for a plan of care or subsequent verbal orders.
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Homecare Q&A, Issue 11, July 15, 2018
This question cannot be answered, as each eligibility is established with each particular patient.
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Homecare Q&A, Issue 11, July 15, 2018
There is no CMS regulation to have the EMR/tablet/daily visit record signed.
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Homecare Q&A, Issue 11, July 15, 2018
Per §1814(a)(2)(C) and §1835(a)(2)(A) of the Social Security Act, the patient must be in...
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Homecare Q&A, Issue 11, July 15, 2018
Your agency should call the physician and see if this has now elevated to an open wound.
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Homecare Q&A, Issue 11, July 15, 2018
In the specific scenario you describe, it would continue to be coded as a trauma wound that is...
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Homecare Q&A, Issue 11, July 15, 2018
Denying a referral should be a determination based on agency policy and physician...
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Homecare Direction, Issue 7, July 2, 2018
Among the top 12 standard-level deficiencies in home health thus far in 2018, seven involve issues...
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Homecare Direction, Issue 7, June 29, 2018
It’s great if your agency’s performance improvement project (PIP) under QAPI is up and...
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Homecare Q&A, Issue 10, June 11, 2018
It is important for the pages of the plan of care to be clearly numbered if there is more than one...
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Homecare Q&A, Issue 10, June 11, 2018
The Joint Commission (TJC) includes a requirement under the Provision of Care, Treatment and...
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Homecare Q&A, Issue 10, June 11, 2018
PNs - along with occupational and physical therapy assistants - aren't qualified to establish the...
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Homecare Q&A, Issue 10, June 11, 2018
Diagnoses listed in M1011 (Inpatient diagnosis), M1021 (Primary diagnosis) and M1023 (Other...
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Homecare Q&A, Issue 10, June 11, 2018
Review what instruction have provided for J1900C in the MDS 3.0 Resident Assessment Manual for...
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Homecare Q&A, Issue 10, June 11, 2018
Agencies need to begin now to ensure that they are getting valid face-to-face documentation with...
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Homecare Q&A, Issue 10, June 11, 2018
All O2 patients need to at least be assessed on a comprehensive assessment for safety.
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Homecare Direction, Issue 6, June 4, 2018
Initial survey results following the implementation of the revised Home Health Conditions of...
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Homecare Q&A, Issue 9, May 12, 2018
First off, know on the front end that the biller is looking for those requested records. Ensure...
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Homecare Q&A, Issue 9, May 12, 2018
This can be done by electronic methods.
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Homecare Q&A, Issue 9, May 12, 2018
Several agencies have provided this information through a secure portal either through their EMR or...
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Homecare Q&A, Issue 9, May 12, 2018
The purpose of the targeted probe-and-educate review is to reduce improper payments by auditing...
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Homecare Q&A, Issue 9, May 12, 2018
Documentation from the non-physician practitioner (NPP) must meet all the required elements for the...
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Homecare Q&A, Issue 9, May 12, 2018
Agencies may require patients to make a written request for copies of the medical record. This is a...
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Homecare Direction, Issue 5, May 2, 2018
Break your agency’s clinicians of their mentality to rely solely on generic language or...
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Homecare Direction, Issue 5, May 2, 2018
Key target areas include informing patients about visit frequency and about explaining financial...
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Homecare Q&A, Issue 8, April 17, 2018
We?re going to see something along the lines of the Home Health Groupings Model.
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Homecare Q&A, Issue 8, April 17, 2018
It remains to be seen what the new payment model will look like.
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Homecare Q&A, Issue 8, April 17, 2018
No conversation on the phone can be billable, as is the same for HIS quality measures.
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Homecare Q&A, Issue 8, April 17, 2018
The supervisory visits need to be no less frequently than every 14 days from the date of the first...
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Homecare Q&A, Issue 8, April 17, 2018
In most agencies with an electronic health records (EHR) system, the therapist completes a...
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Homecare Direction, Issue 4, April 12, 2018
Thoroughly examine clinicians’ documen-tation — and ensure it’s detailed...
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Homecare Direction, Issue 4, April 12, 2018
Take steps to ensure the small pool of home health patients you have who can or do bathe would...
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Homecare Direction, Issue 4, April 12, 2018
Rural agencies might have to wait a while before they get 3% add-on payments for claims submitted...
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Homecare Direction, Issue 4, April 12, 2018
To help comply with the new patient rights requirements in the revised Home Health Conditions of...
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Homecare Direction, Issue 3, March 29, 2018
CMS’ newly posted surveyor training reiterates the need for home health agencies to ensure...
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Homecare E-News, Issue 13, March 26, 2018
To comply with the Hospice QRP (HQRP) requirements, hospices must successfully submit timely...
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Homecare E-News, Issue 13, March 26, 2018
The Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) is once again recommending a 5% Medicare payment...
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Homecare Direction, Issue 3, March 26, 2018
The lack of an appointed head of the Occupational Safe-ty and Health Administration (OSHA) has...
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Homecare E-News, Issue 12, March 19, 2018
During the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission’s (MedPAC) public meeting on Thursday, March...
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Homecare E-News, Issue 12, March 19, 2018
Learn about the development and testing of standardized patient assessment data elements mandated...
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Homecare Direction, Issue 3, March 19, 2018
Conduct a quality audit of documentation your therapists submit. CMS’ targeted...
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Homecare Q&A, Issue 6, March 17, 2018
Agencies must abide by certain regulations in order to participate in the Medicare program, as...
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Homecare Q&A, Issue 6, March 17, 2018
Care coordination is included in the CoP 484.60-
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Homecare E-News, Issue 11, March 12, 2018
A new study from the HHS Office of Inspector General (OIG) shows that some of the patient lists...
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Homecare Direction, Issue 3, March 12, 2018
Agencies gearing up for the performance improvement project (PIP) requirement under the revised...
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Homecare Q&A, Issue 5, March 5, 2018
If you haven’t done so already, do the following to help your agency tackle compliance with...
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Homecare Q&A, Issue 5, March 5, 2018
AIn the case of an unexpected discharge, the last qualified clinician to see the patient should...
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Homecare Q&A, Issue 5, March 5, 2018
In CMS’ targeted probe-and-educate review, MACs will send ADRs to agencies that...
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Homecare E-News, Issue 10, March 5, 2018
The Medicare Conditions of Participation (CoPs) for home health agencies that became effective...
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Homecare E-News, Issue 9, February 26, 2018
After a CMS survey, the home health agency administrator, clinical manager, and any other key...
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Homecare Direction, Issue 2, February 23, 2018
Agencies must take extra precautions if they want to send texts to patients the standard way...
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Homecare E-News, Issue 7, February 12, 2018
On Friday, February 9, President Trump signed into law a bill designed to keep the federal...
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Homecare E-News, Issue 6, February 5, 2018
CMS has once again extended its moratoria on new home health agencies and new branches of existing...
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Homecare Direction, Issue 2, February 5, 2018
Experts fear a lack of detailed surveyor training from CMS on the revised Home Health Conditions...
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Homecare E-News, Issue 5, January 29, 2018
On January 23, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and HHS announced a partnership to...
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Homecare Q&A, Issue 2, January 17, 2018
You should review the final CoPs and the draft interpretive guidelines.
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Homecare Direction, Issue 1, January 15, 2018
Between the cost of denials and additional staffing expenses to cover the time in-volved in...
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Homecare Direction, Issue 1, January 8, 2018
Within the revised Home Health Condi-tions of Participation (CoP) slated to take effect January...
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Homecare E-News, Issue 2, January 8, 2018
CMS has approved the 2018 standards set forth by the home health accrediting body Community Health...
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Homecare E-News, Issue 2, January 8, 2018
The final interpretive guidelines for the revised Home Health Conditions of Participation (CoPs...
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Homecare Q&A, Issue 1, January 3, 2018
If an agency decides to perform a mock survey itself, it should use the Conditions of...
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Homecare E-News, Issue 49, December 22, 2017
The Department of Labor (DOL) recently decided to appeal a ruling that effectively ended changes to...
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Homecare E-News, Issue 48, December 18, 2017
When examining the new draft guidelines for the revised Home Health Conditions of Participation...
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Homecare Q&A, Issue 24, December 17, 2017
The documentation surrounding your QAPI program should include:
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Homecare Q&A, Issue 24, December 17, 2017
With the myriad of responsibilities a home health administrator must discharge each day, auditing...
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Homecare E-News, Issue 47, December 11, 2017
A December 2017 OIG report details how personal care services (PCS) have risen in Medicaid fraud...
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Homecare Direction, Issue 12, December 11, 2017
CMS’ long-awaited draft version of the interpretive guidelines for the revised Home Health...
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Homecare E-News, Issue 46, December 4, 2017
CMS has finalized its plan to cancel four mandatory episode payment models for common cardiac and...
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Homecare Direction, Issue 12, December 4, 2017
Actions that home health agencies and advocacy or-ganizations took to combat CMS’ proposed...
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Homecare Q&A, Issue 23, December 1, 2017
Regardless of whether you determine to challenge a survey, the Plan of Correction must be...
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Homecare Q&A, Issue 23, December 1, 2017
There are specific formatting requirements for each of the forms. Below are the individual...
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Homecare E-News, Issue 45, November 27, 2017
CMS has issued new guidance that explains how agencies can go about converting subunits to...
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Homecare Q&A, Issue 22, November 17, 2017
The administrator, clinical manager, and any other key personnel should begin reviewing the...
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Homecare E-News, Issue 43, November 13, 2017
After CMS review, The Joint Commission has finally prepublished revisions to the Emergency...
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Homecare Direction, Issue 11, November 2, 2017
Restructure clinical managers’ positions so they function more like case managers. Doing so...
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Homecare Q&A, Issue 21, November 2, 2017
MACs use the Fiscal Intermediary Standard System (FISS) to process Medicare Part A claims...
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Homecare Q&A, Issue 21, November 2, 2017
A nurse should be skilled in cutting toenails, but because of the increased risk of liability if...
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Homecare E-News, Issue 42, November 2, 2017
Agencies can breathe a deep sigh of relief. CMS won’t launch its drastically revised home...
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Homecare Direction, Issue 11, November 1, 2017
The big buzz at the National Association for Home Care & Hospice (NAHC) an-nual conference in...
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Homecare E-News, Issue 40, October 23, 2017
The odds of the home health industry avoiding the Home Health Groupings Model in 2019 have...
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Homecare Q&A, Issue 20, October 17, 2017
Have clinicians follow up the next day when patients have a change in pain medications or...
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Homecare Q&A, Issue 20, October 17, 2017
There is no language specifically stating an NP or PA cannot give orders. Rather, the rules...
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Homecare E-News, Issue 39, October 16, 2017
Community Health Accreditation Partner (CHAP) is now an approved accreditation organization to...
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Homecare E-News, Issue 38, October 9, 2017
As part of ongoing efforts to raise awareness about the upcoming change to Medicare numbers and...
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Homecare Q&A, Issue 19, October 3, 2017
If the agency is not performing any care for the stoma (including any assessment, etc.) then you...
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Homecare Q&A, Issue 19, October 3, 2017
Yes, the OT can perform a discharge, or transfer, or any other OASIS after the SOC.
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Homecare Q&A, Issue 19, October 3, 2017
This is not specifically addressed in the CoPs. The closest thing that would apply would be the...
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Homecare Q&A, Issue 19, October 3, 2017
Yes, the personnel qualification requirements for HHA administrators at §484.115(a) will...
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Homecare Direction, Issue 10, October 2, 2017
The way Texas and Florida agencies reacted to the recent catastrophic hurricanes should serve as a...
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Homecare E-News, Issue 36, September 25, 2017
In advance of a disaster such as a hurricane, also consider whether each patient has necessary...
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Homecare Q&A, Issue 18, September 19, 2017
Here’s how to improve on ADRs:
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Homecare E-News, Issue 35, September 18, 2017
The agency’s policies and procedures will include a discipline and discharge policy. It is...
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Homecare Direction, Issue 9, September 18, 2017
Conditions linked in the Alphabetic Index by the word “in” should be considered...
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Homecare Q&A, Issue 18, September 17, 2017
Excellent question, given the active season we’ve been having. You must comply with...
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Homecare E-News, Issue 34, September 11, 2017
The President declared a state of emergency for the United States Virgin Islands, Commonwealth of...
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Homecare Q&A, Issue 17, August 31, 2017
If an agency discharges a patient and that patient resumes services, there may be questions about...
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Homecare Q&A, Issue 17, August 31, 2017
The moment an HHA considers to be the start of the survey is when the surveyor arrives...
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Homecare Q&A, Issue 17, August 31, 2017
Q46.1. If we admit a Medicare patient to our home health agency and complete a SOC...
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Homecare Q&A, Issue 17, August 31, 2017
Interpretive Guidelines §418.56(c)(2) state...
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Homecare E-News, Issue 33, August 28, 2017
CMS has released Q&As in writing on its Home Health Quality Reporting Training website.
The...
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Homecare Direction, Issue 8, August 25, 2017
Two months after CMS said there was no plan for another round of the probe-and-educate review for...
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Homecare Q&A, Issue 16, August 17, 2017
Homecare Q&A, August 17, 2017
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Homecare Direction, Issue 8, August 14, 2017
Create a checklist to verify that your agency has explained to patients and/or their legal...
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Homecare Q&A, Issue 15, August 3, 2017
When a hospice discovers a new ADR, staff should review the time frame for the ADR, assemble...
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Homecare Q&A, Issue 15, August 3, 2017
The proof of medical necessity strictly relies on the MD documentation and diagnosis and the...
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Homecare Q&A, Issue 5, August 3, 2017
Become more proactive. You no longer can wait for face-to-face documentation to arrive within...
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Homecare Q&A, Issue 15, August 3, 2017
In the new proposed home health PPS rule, CMS states agencies providing a larger percentage of...
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Homecare E-News, Issue 29, July 31, 2017
According to the Federal Registrar, enrollment of new Medicare home health agencies, subunits, and...
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Homecare E-News, Issue 29, July 31, 2017
The introduction of the Home Health Groupings Model (HHGM) into the proposed rule means preparing...
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Homecare E-News, Issue 29, July 31, 2017
While the HHGM is the most significant long-term change for agencies’ payments, in the short...
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Homecare Direction, Issue 7, July 21, 2017
Review emergency preparedness policies and procedures at least annually, and make sure they...
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Homecare Q&A, Issue 14, July 17, 2017
It’s true that you will struggle. A study of hospitalizations using a national all-payer...
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Homecare Q&A, Issue 14, July 17, 2017
The clock has been reset, and agencies that haven’t taken steps to prepare for the revised...
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Homecare E-News, Issue 27, July 17, 2017
The Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015 requires CMS to remove social security...
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Homecare E-News, Issue 27, July 17, 2017
Less than one week before the July 1 compliance date, OSHA officials delayed a new electronic...
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Homecare E-News, Issue 26, July 10, 2017
Less than a week before most of the revised Home Health Conditions of Participation (CoPs) were...
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Homecare Direction, Issue 7, July 10, 2017
Your agency has gone through the quality assessment piece of QAPI and identified areas that need...
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Beacon Institute On-Demand Webcast Library, Issue 2, February 22, 2017
Final Home Health CoPs: Minimize the cost of compliance
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Homecare E-News, Issue 45, November 28, 2016
Last week, a federal judge with the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas issued a...
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Homecare E-News, Issue 44, November 21, 2016
The call for public comment on the IMPACT Act of 2014’s cross-setting quality measure on...
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Homecare E-News, Issue 40, October 24, 2016
The final report from the Alliance for Home Health Quality and Innovation (AHHQI)’s Future...
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Homecare E-News, Issue 40, October 24, 2016
New communication ruling for home health and hospices takes effect. This week, the Centers...
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Homecare Q&A, Issue 18, September 17, 2016
Medicare will pay for administration of these injections with the proper circumstances and with...
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Homecare Q&A, Issue 17, September 3, 2016
Remember, as an agency, you must follow the strictest of the guidelines, including your agency...
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Homecare Q&A, Issue 16, August 22, 2016
Our questions are in regards to providing home health aide services to a patient in an assisted...
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Homecare Q&A, Issue 16, August 22, 2016
The regulation requires the HHA to alert the physician to any changes that suggest a need to alter...
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Homecare Q&A, Issue 16, August 22, 2016
Follow-up question to the one above: Because the patient would not be coming back to us for...
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Homecare Q&A, Issue 16, August 22, 2016
When our patients are admitted to an inpatient facility and we complete a transfer OASIS, we...
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Homecare E-News, Issue 28, July 25, 2016
In this week's roundup:
New HHA PEPPER is now available. A new release of the Program...
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Homecare Q&A, Issue 14, July 17, 2016
Teaching and training plays a significant role in homecare and is addressed in the Medicare Benefit...
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Homecare E-News, Issue 26, July 11, 2016
In this week's roundup:
False claims penalties to double. Penalties for fraud by healthcare...
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Homecare Q&A, Issue 13, July 3, 2016
For recertification of a Foley patient or long-term medication management, the physician should...
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Homecare E-News, Issue 25, June 27, 2016
The U.S. Supreme Court has declined to hear Home Care Association of America v. Weil, which means...
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Homecare E-News, Issue 25, June 27, 2016
In this week's roundup:
CMS revises ICD-10 codes. CMS officially finalized the first major...
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Homecare E-News, Issue 24, June 20, 2016
In this week's roundup:
Study: Home health cuts costs of CJR. The use of home health...
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Homecare E-News, Issue 22, June 6, 2016
In this week's roundup:
House members slam home health prior authorization proposal. A...
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Homecare Q&A, Issue 10, May 17, 2016
As a representative of the physician, the discharge planner could gather all information. As long...
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Homecare Q&A, Issue 8, April 19, 2016
As a Medicare-certified homecare agency, I historically hired aides that have completed the CNA/HHA...
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Homecare Q&A, Issue 8, April 17, 2016
What is the best way to comply with the new Medicare regulation that took effect on August 11...
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Homecare Q&A, Issue 7, April 4, 2016
The Conditions of Participation (CoP) mandate the agency to send a summary report to the physician...
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Homecare Q&A, Issue 7, April 4, 2016
You can never conduct too many chart audits. However, there are certain time points when you...
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Homecare Q&A, Issue 7, April 4, 2016
In response to this question, CMS has said that it is not necessary to discharge and readmit the...
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Homecare Q&A, Issue 7, April 4, 2016
One of the eligibility criteria for Medicare is homebound status; this must be present to qualify...
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Homecare E-News, Issue 14, April 4, 2016
Recent investigations by the Office of Inspector General (OIG) have shown a number of instances in...
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Homecare E-News, Issue 13, March 28, 2016
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office for Civil Rights (OCR) has launched...
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Homecare E-News, Issue 12, March 21, 2016
The CMS Office of Minority Health last week unveiled a snapshot of chronic disease-related service...
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Homecare Q&A, Issue 6, March 18, 2016
If a patient is blind or in a wheelchair, does he or she automatically meet the requirement for...
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Homecare Q&A, Issue 6, March 18, 2016
Please advise regarding how a home health agency is paid if a patient elects hospice after...
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Homecare Q&A, Issue 6, March 18, 2016
Following up on the previous question's example of the therapy overpayment, would the agency also...
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Homecare Q&A, Issue 6, March 18, 2016
What potential impact does the final rule on overpayments have on home health agencies? For...
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Homecare Q&A, Issue 6, March 18, 2016
We have been getting complaints from physicians regarding too much paperwork that we send to them...
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Homecare E-News, Issue 11, March 14, 2016
An article titled “A Case Exemplar for National Policy Leadership: Expanding Program of...
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Homecare Q&A, Issue 5, March 3, 2016
The policies and administrative practices of the agency are reviewed to determine the extent to...
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Homecare Q&A, Issue 4, February 18, 2016
How do I help my staff avoid professional negligence claims? What are the important points to...
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Homecare Q&A, Issue 4, February 18, 2016
I work at a homecare agency, and we have been getting referrals lately for nurses to administer...
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Homecare E-News, Issue 7, February 15, 2016
CMS intends to start a Medicare Probable Fraud Measurement Pilot for home healthcare services...
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Homecare Q&A, Issue 3, February 3, 2016
Thank you for your question and commitment to compliance. You are correct that the assessment must...
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Homecare Q&A, Issue 3, February 3, 2016
Thank you for your question and your commitment to compliance. According to the Medicare Benefit...
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Homecare Q&A, Issue 1, January 3, 2016
Telehealth devices are becoming more common in the area of home healthcare. It is important for...
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Homecare Q&A, Issue 24, December 17, 2015
It is not prohibited but will require tight controls in place. Please review practice brief about...
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Homecare Q&A, Issue 24, December 17, 2015
The following is a clarification by CMS regarding this subject:
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Homecare E-News, Issue 49, December 14, 2015
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) will host an open door forum on Thursday...
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Homecare E-News, Issue 48, December 7, 2015
The National Quality Forum (NQF) announced its plan to review standardized performance measure...
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Homecare Q&A, Issue 23, December 4, 2015
No, home health aides are not permitted to apply any dressing to a wound, incision, etc. They...
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Homecare E-News, Issue 47, November 30, 2015
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services released its Agency Financial Report for fiscal...
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Homecare E-News, Issue 47, November 30, 2015
Assisted- and independent-living centers can be attractive places to do business for the home...
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Homecare Q&A, Issue 22, November 17, 2015
How can we prepare for staff interviews during a survey?
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Homecare Q&A, Issue 22, November 17, 2015
How do home visits work when you are having a survey?
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Homecare Q&A, Issue 22, November 17, 2015
Our agency is asking for clarification of whether an agency relationship exists between hospital...
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Homecare E-News, Issue 43, November 2, 2015
After receiving 118 comments from the public during the official comment period, the Centers for...
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Homecare E-News, Issue 43, November 2, 2015
Final Rule Released
After receiving 118 comments from the public, the Centers for Medicare &...
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Homecare E-News, Issue 42, October 26, 2015
For years there has been debate on what is an appropriate frequency for a patient. Frequency...
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Homecare E-News, Issue 42, October 26, 2015
The Alliance for Home Health Quality and Innovation (AHHQI), a national non-profit consortium...
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Homecare E-News, Issue 42, October 26, 2015
Home health sees decline in readmission rates
The Alliance for Home Health Quality and...
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Homecare E-News, Issue 40, October 19, 2015
Care delivered according to infection control guidelines is the most effective tool available for...
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Homecare E-News, Issue 41, October 19, 2015
Last Tuesday, NAHC submitted official comments to CMS on a pair of proposed clinical templates (one...
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Homecare Q&A, Issue 20, October 16, 2015
We are in disagreement about whether that is an appropriate frequency.
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Homecare Q&A, Issue 20, October 16, 2015
What kind of events count as "potentially avoidable"? What will and should be in the...
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Homecare Q&A, Issue 20, October 16, 2015
Can you explain the IMPACT Act and what home health agencies need to do in regard to it?
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Homecare Q&A, Issue 20, October 16, 2015
Is it true that the following documentation is an improper certification statement on our home...
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Homecare E-News, Issue 40, October 12, 2015
The start-of-care (SOC) assessment is completed as a patient is being admitted to a home health...
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Homecare E-News, Issue 40, October 12, 2015
While awaiting an imminent decision in its lawsuit challenging the validity of the physician...
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Homecare Q&A, Issue 19, October 2, 2015
If the patient does not require a skilled bath, can our agency continue to provide this under the...
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Homecare Q&A, Issue 19, October 2, 2015
Can you please explain what specifically needs to be under the supervisions of licensed...
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Homecare Q&A, Issue 19, October 2, 2015
We are having an issue with noncoverage for therapy. What are the rules for therapy services to be...
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Homecare Q&A, Issue 19, October 2, 2015
We have been told that the following documentation would position us for a potential claim denial...
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Homecare Q&A, Issue 19, October 2, 2015
We have received a request from a physician office to have one of our employees be on-site to...
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Homecare Q&A, Issue 18, September 17, 2015
This patient’s change in condition has a real impact on resource utilization—an...
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Homecare Q&A, Issue 18, September 17, 2015
We have an 87-year-old woman who was referred by the wound care center for care of a wound...
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Homecare Q&A, Issue 17, September 8, 2015
No. The regulations do not mandate any particular form or format for documentation or confirmation...
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Homecare Q&A, Issue 15, August 3, 2015
What this agency heard is in error and could lead to denials. Just as with any Medicare-covered...
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Homecare Q&A, Issue 15, August 3, 2015
Telemonitoring or telehealth is one technology that can help a patient in the home. It cannot...
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Homecare Q&A, Issue 15, August 3, 2015
Is it permissible for a hospital discharge planner to make an entry into a patient hospital record...
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Homecare Q&A, Issue 15, August 3, 2015
I am specifically looking for the guidance indicating that, when an OASIS assessment is not...
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Homecare Q&A, Issue 14, July 16, 2015
This locator applies only if verbal orders are
involved in the start of care process. It...
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Homecare Q&A, Issue 14, July 16, 2015
Yes, it’s true. You can find that requirement
in CMS Publication 100-2, Chapter...
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Homecare Q&A, Issue 14, July 16, 2015
The only similar guidance found was according
to CMS’ OASIS Q&A:
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Homecare Q&A, Issue 14, July 16, 2015
Thanks for your question and commitment
to compliance. In cases where you learn
after the fact...
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Homecare Q&A, Issue 13, July 2, 2015
If a patient switches from traditional Medicare to MA, the agency will receive a partial episode...
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Homecare Q&A, Issue 13, July 2, 2015
AM0150 would be answered “2”—Medicare (HMO/managed care/Advantage plan).
It is...
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Homecare Q&A, Issue 13, July 2, 2015
When a patient joins a Medicare Advantage (MA) plan, he or she takes on a subscriber number, but...
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Homecare Q&A, Issue 13, July 2, 2015
The coverage of nonroutine supplies is probably the most confusing component of the consolidated...
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Homecare Q&A, Issue 13, July 2, 2015
Lymphedema therapy is an extensive treatment involving a combination of manual decongestive therapy...
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Homecare Q&A, Issue 13, July 2, 2015
Occupational therapy cannot qualify a patient for coverage initially, but after the patient has had...
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Homecare Q&A, Issue 13, July 2, 2015
The ABN (CMS-R-131) is a written notice that the agency must provide to a PPS Medicare-eligible...
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Homecare Q&A, Issue 13, July 2, 2015
As long as the order is a complete order for a treatment or therapy, you may have more than one...
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Homecare Q&A, Issue 13, July 2, 2015
July 3, 2015
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Homecare Q&A, Issue 12, June 15, 2015
If an agency discharges a patient with goals met but then readmits him or her within 60 days of...
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Homecare Q&A, Issue 12, June 15, 2015
Q: We are seeing a patient with Alzheimer’s disease, who was hospitalized for advanced...
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Homecare Q&A, Issue 12, June 15, 2015
What about goals, rehabilitation potential, and discharge plans? What are some key points we need...
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Homecare Q&A, Issue 12, June 15, 2015
What is the proper way to enter in orders for disciplines and treatments on the 485?
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Homecare Q&A, Issue 12, June 15, 2015
Assignment of benefits - This term means that the facility or the physician agrees to accept...
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Homecare Q&A, Issue 8, June 9, 2015
First, let’s review for everyone reading what the current CoP is and what is being...
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Homecare Q&A, Issue 0, June 9, 2015
Although the diagnosis and the functional limitations do not stand alone in determining the medical...
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Homecare Q&A, Issue 11, June 3, 2015
Can we use standing orders for many of our specialty programs, like wound care?
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Homecare Q&A, Issue 11, June 3, 2015
Can we accept orders from a physician’s secretary or office nurse who is communicating with...
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Homecare Q&A, Issue 11, June 3, 2015
What do we do if a patient has been snatched away from us?
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Homecare Q&A, Issue 11, June 3, 2015
Can a nurse practitioner who runs her own practice make a referral to a home health agency?
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Homecare Q&A, Issue 10, May 17, 2015
How are we supposed to use observation and assessment for patients on telemonitoring?
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Homecare Q&A, Issue 10, May 17, 2015
How can extended daily visits be justified and covered?
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Homecare Q&A, Issue 10, May 17, 2015
Where can I find the rule about physician cosigning of a nurse practitioner’s order so the...
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Homecare Q&A, Issue 10, May 17, 2015
Where is it specifically written that an NP or a PA cannot sign homecare orders?
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Homecare Q&A, Issue 10, May 17, 2015
Can we use “zero” as a frequency in writing physician orders? For example, physical...
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Homecare Q&A, Issue 10, May 17, 2015
Can a single physical therapy visit determine a need for occupational therapy that is covered under...
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Homecare Q&A, Issue 10, May 17, 2015
What are the new therapy reassessment requirements that CMS solidified in its 2015 PPS final rule...
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Homecare Q&A, Issue 10, May 15, 2015
If a RN sees a patient on Monday, April 13, 2015, when is the next supervision visit due? I...
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Homecare Q&A, Issue 9, May 3, 2015
My agency has been reviewing the proposed Conditions of Participation (CoP). We are looking at the...
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Homecare Q&A, Issue 9, May 3, 2015
What should you do about a tardy recertification assessment? It’s the fifth day of the...
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Homecare Q&A, Issue 9, May 3, 2015
What happens to patients who can self-inject but cannot pre-fill insulin syringes?
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Homecare Q&A, Issue 9, May 3, 2015
When does Medicare consider a wound as chronic/nonhealing and no longer pay for services?
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Homecare Q&A, Issue 9, May 3, 2015
Is it an appropriate use of Medicare to do three weeks of assessment and venipuncture for a patient...
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Homecare Q&A, Issue 8, April 17, 2015
When a patient joins an MA plan, he or she takes on a subscriber number, but the patient’s...
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Homecare Q&A, Issue 8, April 17, 2015
The final rule, and the corresponding correction that CMS put out regarding the therapy...
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Homecare Q&A, Issue 8, April 17, 2015
The 2015 final rule for home health PPS changed the policy on Medicare therapy reassessments.
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Homecare Q&A, Issue 7, April 3, 2015
The ROC assessment is completed any time a patient has returned home following an inpatient stay of...
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Homecare Q&A, Issue 7, April 3, 2015
Palmetto and CGS have specific local coverage determinations (LCD) regarding shortand long-term...
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Homecare Q&A, Issue 7, April 3, 2015
Before offering the Medicare Hospice Benefit (MHB) to a beneficiary, the hospice must first verify...
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Homecare Q&A, Issue 6, March 17, 2015
Yes, all Medicare, Medicare Advantage, and Medicaid OASIS assessments must be transmitted.
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Homecare Q&A, Issue 5, March 3, 2015
We spend a tremendous amount of time in meetings. Many of them are boring, nonproductive, and...
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Homecare Q&A, Issue 5, March 3, 2015
On the federal level, the CoPs/ Medicare Benefit Policy Manual states that for all certified...
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Homecare Q&A, Issue 5, March 3, 2015
There is not a specific Condition of Participation (CoP) stating that the board must review your...
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Homecare Insider, Issue 1, January 5, 2015
Will home health remain exempt from overtime compensation in most circumstances like it has for 40...
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Homecare Q&A, Issue 1, January 3, 2013
Access the January 3, 2013 issue of Homecare Q&A.
