Home Health Line
07/20/2015
The second round of quality of patient care 5-star star ratings is scheduled to be published Oct. 8 on the Home Health Compare website. 
 
07/20/2015
When CMS was creating Table 9 within the 2016 proposed PPS rule, “There was a misalignment between the case-mix weights and the payment groups,” the federal Medicare agency has since announced.http://go.cms.gov/1RoGVoi
 
07/20/2015
by: National Research Corporation, Seattle
Among all payers, only 0.53% of patients suffered new or “worsened” Stage II, III or IV pressure ulcers during home health treatment, according to Seattle-based National Research Corporation. Of Medicare patients with pressure ulcers at discharge, nearly one-quarter had a new or worsened pressure ulcer at Stage II.
 
 
07/15/2015
Nearly 70,000 home health appeals of Medicare contractor denials currently are waiting to be reviewed by an administrative law judge (ALJ) or are waiting for an ALJ decision.
07/15/2015
The box below contains additional details about CMS’ value-based purchasing model, as outlined in the proposed 2016 PPS rule.
 
07/15/2015
Agencies in New England are slated to see a payment increase of 2.3% in 2016, the best deal under CMS’ proposed policies. Meanwhile, agencies in the East South Central region would see the biggest reduction, 2.3%. CMS’ proposals also would hit nonprofit, proprietary and government providers.
07/13/2015
by: National Research Corporation, Seattle
Among all payers, only 0.53% of patients suffered new or “worsened” Stage II, III or IV pressure ulcers during home health treatment, according to Seattle-based National Research Corporation. Of Medicare patients with pressure ulcers at discharge, nearly one-quarter had a new or worsened pressure ulcer at Stage II.
 
 
07/06/2015
by: OSHA
Home health agencies, visiting nurse associations and in-home hospice care services combined received 26 citations totaling $26,528 in penalties from October 2013 through September 2014, according to OSHA. Issues involving bloodborne pathogens led to half of those citations and $14,550 in penalties.
 
07/06/2015
A small provision tucked inside the 2015 PPS final rule surfaced during a recent Medicare administrative contractor (MAC) teleconference, alerting scores of agencies to this requirement for the first time and triggering a flurry of questions.
 
07/06/2015
Have therapists educate your nurses and aides about when — and when not — to lift patients. Doing so will lessen the chances of musculoskeletal injuries occurring at the workplace, and that’s even more important now that the Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) has decided to target providers and potentially issue hefty fines.
 
 

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