Rehab Newsletters

Ever-changing reimbursement policies and government regulations affects your facility's ability to stay in compliance. Briefings on Outpatient Rehab Reimbursement & Regulations reports on these changes and offers suggestions on how best to cope with them.

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Briefings on Outpatient Rehab: Reimbursement and Regulations

Issue 12, December 1, 2004 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• OIG focuses on outsourced billing

  If you read the Office of Inspector General's (OIG) 2005 Work Plan when it was released in October...

• Therapists breathe a sigh of relief

  Since August 5, when CMS issued the proposed rule on that would affect "incident-to" services...

• It's not too early to prepare for HIPAA security

  It's been a crazy day at your outpatient rehab facility. As you're waiting for your next patient...

• Can't get no satisfaction?

  At St. Vincent's Medical Center's rehab department in Bridgeport, CT, patients fill out a survey...

• BRRR Q&A

  Editor's note: Nancy J. Beckley, MS, MBA, president of Bloomingdale Consulting Group in Brandon...

Issue 11, November 1, 2004 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Get your motor running . . .

  As patients age, their families or physicians may want to reevaluate their driving skills to ensure...

• Make child's play out of pediatric rehab reimbursement

  Obviously the rehab needs of an infant are different from those of a five- or 10-year-old child...

• Avoid a humbug of a holiday

  Over the past year, you've dealt with some fabulous referring physicians who've sent patients your...

• BRRR Q&A

  Editor's note: Nancy J. Beckley, MS, MBA, president of Bloomingdale Consulting Group in Brandon...

Issue 10, October 1, 2004 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• HIPAA, we have a problem

  You've been busy for months ensuring that your staff members and facility procedures adhere to the...

• OTs name that rehab tune

  Unlike other niche markets, finding a therapist who specializes in musicians' injuries is a...

• Physician orders got you stumped?

  Incomplete or missing valid physician orders cost providers hundreds of thousands of dollars each...

• BRRR Q&A

  Editor's note: Nancy J. Beckley, MS, MBA, president of Bloomingdale Consulting Group in Brandon...

Issue 9, September 1, 2004 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Proposed rule suggests tighter 'incident-to' rules

  CMS issued a proposed rule on August 5 that contains two issues that could positively affect the...

• Send your patients to a specialist-You!

  With the American Physical Therapy Association's (APTA) well-established board certification...

• BRRR Q&A

  Editor's note: Nancy J. Beckley, MS, MBA, president of Bloomingdale Consulting Group in Brandon...

Issue 8, August 1, 2004 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Decubitus ulcer coding change

  Effective October 1, outpatient facilities will do away with ICD-9 code 707.0 and replace it with a...

• It's November 1: Do you know where your compliance program is?

  Don't panic-a compliance plan at your outpatient facility is still only strongly recommended rather...

• Give hand therapy a round of applause

  If you want to expand your clientele and help your outpatient facility make more money, hand...

• Should you outsource your billing?

  If billing at your facility is becoming too much to handle in-house, outsourcing might be the...

• BRRR Q&A

  Editor's note: Nancy J. Beckley, MS, MBA, president of Bloomingdale Consulting Group in Brandon...

Issue 7, July 1, 2004 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Extra! Extra! Read all about it!

  Do your flyers make community members flock to your information sessions? Do your advertisements...

• Lymphedema therapy: Should you add it to your repertoire?

  Young or old, healthy or ill, patients with varying medical histories can develop lymphedema...

• Get the lowdown on LCDs

  If you wonder whether certain local and national Medicare policies apply to the services you...

• Self-care is essential for therapists

  It's a therapist's job to make his or her patients feel better. But what happens when the rigors of...

• BRRR Q&A

  Editor's note: Nancy J. Beckley, MS, MBA, president of Bloomingdale Consulting Group in Brandon...

Issue 6, June 1, 2004 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Need help reeling them in?

  Editor's note: This article is part one in a two-part series on rehab facility recruitment and...

• Physical therapy for females gains recognition

  At Central Peninsula General Hospital in Soldotna, AK, women of all ages use the services provided...

• BRRR Q&A

  Editor's note: Nancy J. Beckley, MS, MBA, president of Bloomingdale Consulting Group in Brandon...

Issue 5, May 1, 2004 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Outpatient home therapy: An untapped market for therapists

  To some, home therapy is a niche market for existing facilities to add to their list of services...

• BRRR Q&A

  Editor's note: Nancy J. Beckley, MS, MBA, president of Bloomingdale Consulting Group in Brandon...

Issue 4, April 1, 2004 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Work Plan provides guidance to outpatient rehab providers

  Due to the Office of Inspector General's (OIG's) 2004 Work Plan released in late 2003, outpatient...

• BRRR Q&A

  Editor's note: Nancy J. Beckley, MS, MBA, president of Bloomingdale Consulting Group in Brandon...

Issue 3, March 1, 2004 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Don't get mad, get heard

  Round up a group of therapists and in no time they'll be discussing Medicare improvements, the...

• How to safeguard your facility: Use OIG's excluded-provider list

  If you've heard of the Office of Inspector General's (OIG) excluded provider list, you know it's a...

• Easy tips to reduce your cancellations and no-show rates, increase productivity

  If your facility has been experiencing a decrease in productivity due to patients who don't keep...

• BRRR Q&A

  Editor's note: Nancy J. Beckley, MS, MBA, president of Bloomingdale Consulting Group in Brandon...

Issue 2, February 1, 2004 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• You don't have to be in denial over claims denials in 2004

  As a therapist practicing in an outpatient facility, you do your best to document the services you...

• Here's why your therapy facility might need a risk manager

  When most of us think of managing risk at our facilities, we envision installing treads to prevent...

• Direct access for therapy may be on the horizon

  As part of the Medicare Prescription Drug and Improvement Act that passed in December 2003...

• BRRR Q & A

  Editor's note: Nancy J. Beckley, MS, MBA, president of Bloomingdale Consulting Group in Brandon...

Issue 1, January 15, 2004 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Therapy cap lifted until 2006

  Rehab providers are breathing easier now that Congress has passed a two-year moratorium on the cap...

• Industry expected to focus on compliance for 2004

  Will CMS take a closer look at outpatient therapy claims? Will the agency issue another set of...

• BRRR Q&A

  Editor's note: These questions were answered by Nancy J. Beckley, MS, MBA, president of...

Issue 1, May 1, 2004

• Speech-language pathologists plan for the future in their rehab field

  Speech-language pathologists (SLPs) are considered part of the rehab community, but in many ways...

• Smart therapists put it in writing

  Most therapists would rather spend time helping their patients than reading manuals or filling out...

• Don't let L stand for lost revenue

  Make a list of the most confusing codes for therapists, and you'll likely include quite a few L...

• Avoid a vendor bender at your facility

  Depending on its size, your facility could be using dozens of different vendors for equipment...