CMS is seeking public input into relaunching a pre-claim review demonstration for home health services. States that are potentially affected are located within the Medicare Administrative Contractor (MAC) Palmetto GBA’s jurisdiction. State and health officials announced June 1 that more than 600 individuals may have been exposed to active tuberculosis at the ManorCare Health Services facility in Wilmington, Delaware during a nine-month period starting in January 2017. Officials were sending letters to current residents as well as former residents who stayed at the facility during the time of exposure. Nearly 9 in 10 adults 40 and older would be comfortable using at least one type of telemedicine for themselves or a loved one, according to the 2018 Long-Term Care Trend poll conducted by the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. A May 2018 federal report, National Research Summit on Care, Services, and Supports for Persons with Dementia and their Caregivers, provides 694 recommendations for research and advancing care for people living with dementia. Drug regimen review (DRR) has always been a best practice for delivering quality care to residents. Effective October 1, 2018, DRR will be a quality measure in the SNF Quality Reporting Program (QRP) created to assess whether providers are proactive in identifying and reconciling potential clinically significant medication issues. It’s essential that long-term care nursing staff understand the DRR process, as well as CMS’ expectations for the new requirement, in order to avoid citations and increase quality and revenue savings. New in the June issue of PPS Alert for Long-Term Care... PDPM: What SNFs need to know The following comes from expert Reginald M. Hislop III, a healthcare executive, consultant, author, and recognized thought leader in the field of healthcare, specialized healthcare, postacute care, and health policy. Find his blog at https://rhislop3.com. PDPM, as proposed, is designed to replace the current SNF payment methodology known as RUG-IV. Unless CMS makes alterations after commentary review, the effective date of the change (from RUGs to PDPM) is October 1, 2019. PDPM is an outgrowth of RCS-I and its received commentary. It’s a simplified payment model designed to be more holistic in patient assessment, capture more clinical complexity, eliminate or greatly streamline the therapy focus by removing the minute levels for categorization, and simplifying the assessment process and schedule (through reduction to three possible assessments/MDS tasks). Click through for a summary of PDPM’s proposed core attributes.See “PDPM Calculation for SNFs” for reference, and for additional details, see the PDPM Calculation Worksheet on CMS’ Reports and Other Documents page (https://bit.ly/2IX4LtB). Biller's Association (BALTC) members: Look out for our upcoming supplement on PDPM, including a case-mix drill down in this month's round up. Not a subscriber? Sign up here. Monthly In-Service: June issue of CNA Training Advisor Malnutrition and Dehydration Click here to receive a new lesson plan every month, including course materials, a 4-page in-service, and a quiz targeted to address the unique needs, interests, and concerns of CNAs. Education and Training Tools Eliminate medication issues to avoid regulatory citations Prepare for hundreds of ICD-10 code changes coming October 1 for home health OASIS-D Is coming: Prepare your clinicians today Achieve better compliance through service contract review | | Product Spotlight At HCPro, we help your organization make faster, better decisions by connecting your challenges and questions to an unrivaled network of experts, resources, and solutions. With a shared-cost membership, you can expect world-class thinking and advice without having to worry about the meter running or expensive consulting fees. An all-encompassing offering, PROPELAdvisory Services is available in six domains, with more on the way. Our growing family includes memberships in Medicare, long-term care, clinical documentation improvement, medical staff, coding, and revenue cycle management. Click here to learn more, or contact us at: 615-724-7213 | advisoryservices@hcpro.com |
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