Tag: compliance

2019 Financial Management Conference Announced!

Join us on Tuesday, December 10th at the Beechwood Hotel in Worcester, MA for our Annual Financial Management Conference. Take a deep dive into the current trends and issues happening in the Home Health industry as you prepare for 2020.

Join us on Tuesday, December 10th at the Beechwood Hotel in Worcester, MA for our Annual Financial Management Conference. Take a deep dive into the current trends and issues happening in the Home Health industry as you prepare for 2020. This is the perfect conference for CFOs, CEOs, and Clinical Directors!
 
The 2019 Agenda Includes:
Hindsight is 2020: Hone into Home Health & Hospice Payment Compliance in the New Decade, Kathleen Hessler, Simione Healthcare Consultants
The HHS Office of Inspector General (OIG) continues its intense oversight and scrutiny of the Medicare home health and hospice programs by analyzing the rich sources of data available to them. With increase in survey and audit activity —including Targeted Probe and Educate (TPE), UPIC and SMRC audits, learn what your agencies need to do to ensure payment compliance in the new decade. The session will cover types of government audits, recommendations for internal-self monitoring, as well as what to do if your agency identifies an overpayment.

HHVBP Trends & Data, Chris Attaya, SHP Data
As we close out year 2 of the Home Health Value-Based Purchasing
Demonstration, Chris Attaya will take a deep dive and identify the latest updates and trends in HHVBP and Star Rating measure scores. Attaya will also discuss data points specific for Massachusetts state agencies.

PDGM Check Point, Mike Carr, Axxess
PDGM is almost here, now is the time to ensure you are ready for the changes. This session will review where you should be, and how to get there if you’re not. Carr will provide a high level overview of PDGM as well as understanding how past performance will be impacted by PDGM. Other elements to be discussed include technology challenges, therapy impact, and measures for survival.

Making Home the Center of Care: Opportunities & Challenges of Public Priorities, Mike Canter, Carecentrix & Reactor Panel
Recent public policy trends focus on cost containment, integrated care, and quality outcomes. Home care is in a unique position to thrive in this emerging environment. Is your agency poised to seize the opportunity?

Register Here

A New Version of OASIS is Coming!

Is your staff just getting used to completing OASIS-D?  Surprise,   CMS recently announced there will be a new version for 2020!

It was a surprise to many when CMS declared during the April 3rd, Open Door Forum, that effective January 1, 2020 there would be a new version of OASIS. I know I was thinking at first that the presenter misread the effective date, but apparently this update is needed to support the Patient Driven Grouping Model (PDGM).  One more thing for HHA to deal with. But, HCA of MA will be here for you.  (See link at end to out Fall 2019 OASIS training.)  

Thankfully though, after reviewing the  CMS Memorandum,   I realize that there are only a few minor changes.

Quick synopsis:   Two items will be added to the Follow-Up assessment:  M1033-Risk for Hospitalization and M1800-Grooming. These items should pose no problem since staff is familiar with answering these items at SOC/ROC. Surprisingly, the other change involves the “option” to no longer answer 23 items!  Rather than leaving the items blank,  the clinician will be required, however,  to respond by using the equal sign (=).

Here are the “optional” items for your convenience.

Start of Care/Resumption of Care (SOC/ROC)

• M1910 Fall risk Assessment

Transfer (TRN) and Discharge (DC)

• M2401a Intervention Synopsis: Diabetic Foot Care

• M1051 Pneumococcal Vaccine

• M1056 Reason Pneumococcal Vaccine not received

Follow-Up (FU)

• M1021 Primary Diagnosis

• M1023 Other Diagnoses

• M1030 Therapies

• M1200 Vision

• M1242 Frequency of Pain Interfering with Activity

• M1311 Current Number of Unhealed Pressure Ulcers at Each Stage

• M1322 Current Number of Stage 1 Pressure Injuries

• M1324 Stage of Most Problematic Unhealed Pressure Ulcer that is Stageable

• M1330 Does this patient have a Stasis Ulcer

• M1332 Current Number of Stasis Ulcers that are Observable

• M1334 Status of Most Problematic Stasis Ulcer that is Observable

• M1340 Does this patient have a Surgical Wound

• M1342 Status of the Most Problematic Surgical Wound that is Observable

• M1400 Short of Breath

• M1610 Urinary Incontinence or Urinary Catheter Presence

• M1620 Bowel Incontinence Frequency

• M1630 Ostomy for Bowel Elimination

• M2030 Management of Injectable Medications

• M2200 Therapy Need

HCA of MA next Blueprint for OASIS Accuracy will be held on November 4th and 5th. Option to take the certification exam will be on the 6th.

You can register for the course here.

Blog post by:  Colleen Bayard.

Full Quality & Compliance Conference Agenda Now Available!

Join us for our first annual Quality & Compliance Conference being held on Thursday, March 29th in Worcester, MA. This conference has been created due to the overwhelming new regulations that agencies need to understand to remain compliant.

After surveying members, HCA determined some of the most important topics that will be discussed during this full day conference.

Members are able to register for the LOW price of $50/person.
5 Nursing CEUs will be awarded!

The agenda is as follows:

 

 

  • ADRs, Pre-Payment Reviews, Post-Payment Audits and Suspensions – Navigating Medicare’s Administrative Appeal Process.
    Robert W. Liles, J.D., M.B.A., M.S., Managing Member, Liles Parker Attorneys & Counselors at Law
    Pre-payment reviews are now being conducted by both UPICs and ZPICs. While the government has placed some restrictions on their use, contractors continue to exercise great latitude in their scope and the length that they are imposed. Similarly, contractors remain in control of post-pay-ments conducted and suspension actions recommended to CMS. In this presentation, Robert W. Liles, J.D., will discuss these enforcement actions and outline the adverse impact each action can have on your agency and discuss your rights under the Administrative Appeal Process.
  • The COPs are Here, is Your Agency Complying?
    Susan M. Filshie, RN, Director of Clinical Consulting, QIRT
    The Conditions of Participation have been here since January, here is what we are seeing that is wrong! Quality in Real Time consults their clients regulary on the new home health standards. Filshie will take a deep dive into what what they have seen regarding the COPs and will give you the steps needed to ensure you are complying with the new regulations. A major focus will be spent on Patient Rights, which has been pinpointed as one of the more “heavy hitters” for the industry.
  • Developing a QAPI Project and the Fundamentals to Make it Successful
    Cheryl Pacella DNP, HHCNS-BC, CPHQ, COS-C, HCS-D, CAP Consulting
    We all celebrated the fact that quarterly record reviews and an annual agency evaluation are no longer required under the new Conditions of Participation. HOWEVER, agencies do need to comply with a robust Quality Assessment and Performance Improvement (QAPI) program. We need to utilize data from record reviews and various reports to prioritize Performance Improve-ment Projects (PIPs). Agencies need to identify at least one QAPI project by July 2018. So where do you start? The goal of this program is to help you identify target areas and provide you with the tools to implement a successful Plan of Action.
  • Panel Discussion: Real Examples of Successful Performance Improvement Projects
    Suzanne Clark, PT, DPT, GCS Direction of PI & Education, NVNA and Hospice
    Melinda Monteverde, RN, MSN, WCCN, Executive Director of Nursing Operations, Steward Home Care
    Kate Mercier, Vice President of Operational Excellence, Brockton VNA
    Three Home Health Agenices in Massachusetts have been put together to show real example of successful Performace Improvement Projects. Panelists will explain how they implemented their projects, what worked, and what didn’t. Q&A time will be available!

DOWNLOAD THE FULL AGENDA HERE!

Educational Calendar Updates

As you probably know, the Home Care Alliance of MA is constantly adding new programs in our calendar, especially with all that is changes in our industry. Please see below some new (and old) programs that we have to offer over the next few weeks:

Thursday, November 17th: “Coping with Chaos: Compliance Climate 2016”

Home Health and Hospice agencies must continue to navigate a chaotic environment with no end in sight.  Get clarity on what the government enforcement agencies and contractors are focusing on in 2016-2017.  Learn how to formalize processes and systems to capture key payment and clinical documentation concerns to avoid overpayment requirements and disclosures, including use of PEPPER data.  Understand how to approach communications and requests from the MACs, ZPICS, the OIG and the DOJ. Finally, take control of your agency’s health and survival by committing to a sound ethics and compliance program framework and evolving ethics and compliance activities.

 *NEW*Tuesday, November 29th: “Medicare B Home Nurse Practitioner Program”

Certain outpatient therapy and other Medicare services may be furnished by a home health agency (HHA) to individuals who are not homebound or otherwise are not receiving services under a home health plan of care (POC) using Medicare Part B billing. As of January 1, 2016, Medicare expanded this list to include advance care planning as a billable service provided by either a physician or a nurse practitioners.  Hear how one agency has developed and successfully used Part B Billing to expand the scope of their community services.

 *NEW*Wednesday, November 30th,, and Wednesday, December 7th: “Riding the Wave: OASIS C-2 Changes”
Oasis-C-2 is just over a month away; are your clinicians aware of all the changes? Come join the HCA for training on the structure and content changes in the OASIS-C2 data set that are effective January 1, 2017. These new items can impact your quality scores and re-imbursement; so be sure your clinicians are familiar with the changes.

*Western MA date and location TBD*

 *DATE CHANGE*Monday, December 5th: “The Gold Standard: Understanding the Background and Importance of Compression for Wound Care Patients”

Compression plays a vital role in both wound healing and reduction of wound recurrence.  Participants will increase their understanding of lower extremity ulcer presentation, compression types, options, dosage and how each can ultimately impact success and outcomes. In the home health arena, it is vital to clearly understand current options available to maximize clinical effectiveness and cost-efficiency.

 Tuesday, December 6th: “Financial Management Conference” *NOTE AGENDA ADDITION: Medicare PPS Changes for 2017*

Agency CFOs and CEOs will be well served by joining HCA on December 6 in Norwood for the Annual Financial Managers Conference. This year’s event features a stellar line-up of expert panels including speakers on Value-Based Purchasing, Revenue Cycle Management, Bundled Payments, and HIPAA/ Cyber Security

 Thursday, December 8th: “The Aide’s Role in Understanding Mental Health Disorders”

This presentation will explore some mental health disorders that may create challenges for the Nurse Aide in the home setting. According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness approximately 43.8 million adults or 1 in 5 adults in the U.S experiences mental illness annually.  Chances are that some of the patients we care for in the home may be experiencing some sort of mental illness.  Learn strategies that can help you when caring for these patients.

 *NEW*Tuesday, December 13th: “A Team Approach to Medication Management”

It takes the entire home health team working together to ad- dress this vital aspect of health care to make a difference and improve the quality of care for those we serve every day. This 90-minute webinar is devoted to promoting a Team Approach to Medication Management in home health.

 

To learn more about any of our programs go to our calendar:  http://www.thinkhomecare.org/events

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