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Issue 102, December 27, 2010

• Common Diagnosis Coding Mistakes

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Issue 100, December 20, 2010

• Putting the final rule into practice: Home health face-to-face encounter

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Issue 98, December 13, 2010

• Putting the final rule into practice: Therapy services and documentation

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Issue 96, December 6, 2010

• Physician Signature Date Will be Mandated and Enforced

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Issue 94, November 29, 2010

• Putting the Final Rule into Practice: Hospice face-to-face encounter

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Issue 93, November 22, 2010

• Tips for Proper Completion of M1012

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Issue 91, November 15, 2010

• Confusion over HHABN and ED Clarified

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Issue 89, November 8, 2010

• CMS Releases Home Health PPS 2011 Final Rule

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Issue 87, November 1, 2010

• Confusion Prevails Over M0102 and M0104

  Over the last few weeks, many providers have expressed confusion over data elements M0102 and M0104...

Issue 85, October 25, 2010

• New and Revised Manuals from CMS

  CMS has issued revised editions of the Outcome-Based Quality Improvement (OBQI) Manual and the...

Issue 83, October 18, 2010

• Home Health Beneficiary Notices

  Both Medicare beneficiaries and providers have certain rights and protections related to financial...

Issue 81, October 11, 2010

• Comprehensive Follow-Up Assessments

  The comprehensive follow-up assessment is conducted during the last five days of the 60-day...

Issue 79, October 4, 2010

• New Regulatory Specialist

  On October 1, 2010, Beacon Health, a division of HCPro, Inc., turned another page in our history...

Issue 77, September 27, 2010

• Homecare Op-Ed: A Good Thing Coming to an End

  On March 17, 1987, Richard and I started Beacon Health.  We had an idea for one product, the...

Issue 76, October 4, 2010

• Confusion Prevails Over M0102 and M0104

    Many providers, over the last few weeks, have expressed confusion over these two items on...

Issue 75, September 20, 2010

• Policy Pointers for Homebound Documentation

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Issue 69, August 30, 2010

• Check out Homecare and Hospice Requirements for Face-to-face Encounter

  The proposed rule to update the Prospective Payment System (PPS) presents many challenges. ...

Issue 67, August 23, 2010

• New Codes for PPS Claims Signal Changes Are Coming

  In the comments with the proposed rule to update the Prospective Payment System, the Centers for...

Issue 65, August 16, 2010

• Customize Care to Meet the Patient's Needs

  Everyday, clinicians confront tough questions, those that require knowledge of certification...

Issue 63, August 9, 2010

• Q&As about PECOS and Physicians

  Homecare providers have been scurrying to comply with the requirement that physicians signing plans...

Issue 61, August 2, 2010

• Is CMS' Mistake Coming Back to Haunt Homecare Providers?

  You know that feeling.  You just hit “send” on an e-mail and then realized...

Issue 59, July 26, 2010

• Physician Verification of Diagnoses Is Important

  Diagnoses play an important role in supporting reasonable and necessary services.  The...

Issue 57, July 19, 2010

• Utilization Outcomes in 2010

  A utilization outcome suggests but does not always reflect a change in health status.  Some of...

Issue 55, July 12, 2010

• Goals on the Plan of Care, a Best Practice But Not a Rule

  Beacon Health has always encouraged clinicians to know the rules.  Here’s a question...

• What would be the correct response for M1610, urinary incontinence or urinary catheter present, for the patient who has nephrostomy tubes?

  Q: What would be the correct response for M1610, urinary incontinence or urinary catheter present...

Issue 54, August 20, 2010 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

Issue 53, July 5, 2010

• Know How to Document Missed Visits

  The documentation of missed visits is one of those perplexing issues that homecare providers...

Issue 51, June 28, 2010

• Transmittal Forbids Discharge/Readmit for Hospitalization

  Agencies have questions about how to handle a patient’s hospitalization. Can we still...

Issue 49, June 21, 2010

• Clarification Orders Are Not Valid

  There are many practices that can present risk when an agency comes under increased scrutiny. ...

Issue 47, June 14, 2010

• CMS Spells out Signature Requirements

  There has been a sign that signatures will be a target of medical reviews conducted by regional...

Issue 45, June 7, 2010

• Surveyors Pay Attention to Branch Offices

  As homecare agencies fine-tune operations for increased scrutiny by Recovery Audit Contractors...

Issue 41, May 24, 2010

• Know the Rules to Refute Misconceptions

  An agency reported to Beacon Health that it received a survey citation because there was no...

Issue 39, May 17, 2010

• The Facts about Home Health Aide Supervision

  Even though the rules for home health aide supervision have not changed in many years, homecare...

Issue 37, May 10, 2010

• Define Your Agency?s Version of a Progress Note

  Compliance is not easy in home health care.  The rules seldom tell you how you should do...

Issue 35, May 3, 2010

• Therapy Assistant FAQs

  Here are some frequently asked questions about therapy assistants. 

Issue 33, April 26, 2010

• Late Recertifications Can Result in Scrutiny

  Oh, oh!  It’s the fifth day of the recertification episode and the nurse realizes she...

Issue 31, April 19, 2010

• Homecare Aptitude Test: V Codes

  Test your knowledge about V codes.  Identify the situations in which a V code is most...

Issue 29, April 12, 2010

• Aide Supervision and One Nursing Visit

  The ins and outs of home health aide supervision can create confusion.  Consider this...

Issue 27, April 5, 2010

• What is Skilled Foot Care?

  Does Medicare allow monthly skilled nursing visits for “diabetic foot care” for a Type...

Issue 25, March 29, 2010

• HIPAA and Fax Transmissions

  One of our staff dialed the wrong fax number and sent a plan of care to the wrong recipient. ...

Issue 23, March 22, 2010

• Reality Check: Comprehensive Assessment and Initial Visit

  “Solutions” to some of the special issues associated with the initial visit and...

Issue 21, March 15, 2010

• Know the Rules ... and the Enforcer

  In the December 2009 issue, Homecare DIRECTION discussed a new requirement 42 CFR §424.22 for...

Issue 19, March 8, 2010

• Homecare Aptitude Test: Physician Orders

  Determine whether the following statements about physician orders are true or false. a. If state...

• Correction to Insider

  It was bought to my attention due to a technicial difficulity, that there was some answers to the...

Issue 17, March 1, 2010

• OASIS-C Start of Care Questions May Cause Survey Issues

  OASIS-C Start of Care Questions May Cause Survey Issues

Issue 15, February 22, 2010

• Dear Homecare Insider Subscriber:

  Dear Homecare Insider Subscriber:

Issue 13, February 15, 2010

• Plan of Care Supports Documentation of Homebound Status

  The plan of care, formerly known as the CMS-485, is a very important document.  However, it...

Issue 11, February 8, 2010

• A Bath for Competency Testing Must Be a Bath

  Homecare providers have been focused on OASIS-C.  However, we cannot forget about other...

Issue 9, February 1, 2010

• Policy Pointers for OASIS-C and Heart Failure Patients

  OASIS-C includes two data elements addressing the status of patients with a diagnosis of heart...

Issue 7, January 25, 2010

• Physicians Must Certify Need for Management and Evaluation

  There is a new requirement for patients receiving services under management and evaluation of a...

Issue 5, January 18, 2010

• Incomplete Orders Can Dock Payment

  Under the Prospective Payment System (PPS), an agency receives payment for an episode, not a...

Issue 3, January 11, 2010

• Check out the New Transfer Assessment

  OASIS-C became effective on January 1.  With all the changes, it’s possible to overlook...

Issue 1, January 4, 2010

• Seven Steps to Reasonable and Necessary Teaching

  Teaching must be reasonable and necessary to treat the patient’s illness or injury or else...