Article Archive
Proper Coding, Homebound Status, and Awareness of Common Edits: Paid But Will You Retain Your Revenue? An Update.
No matter which MAC or RAC reviews your agency, high risk probes are on the rise. The intermediaries are mandated by CMS to monitor areas of greater risk. The RACs are paid by contingency on aberrant findings and their algorithms are making findings easier. When MACs or RACs find trends of concern they will launch [...]
Read more...The Role of Compliance : Home Health and Hospital Readmissions
This is THE topic one sees everywhere; trade journals, conferences, CMS, MLN, State Alerts, Home Health Associations. This topic is no longer just an operational and financial issue. Boards of Directors are looking to the Corporate Compliance Department and stating hospital readmissions should be part of the Corporate Compliance Plan. More and more, leaders are [...]
Read more...Practical and Succinct Solutions to Coding: Obstacles Facing Home Health Coding Accuracy
The Forces are Coming Together for 2013: Changes in Case Mix Dollar Payment Coding Changes Survey Sanctions Increased Audits Confusion re newer requirements; ie F2F and Therapy New Chronic Care Models Affordable Care Act And Everything starts with Solid Coding Changes to 1024 Significant loss of payment expected: The inability to assign resolved conditions such [...]
Read more...Teaching as the basis for qualifying a patient for Medicare coverage
It’s likely that every admission and many visits involve some sort of teaching. However, that teaching may not qualify the patient for Medicare coverage. According to the coverage criteria, teaching must be reasonable and necessary to the treatment of the patient’s illness or injury. Recently, an agency supervisor stated their agency nurse spent a visit [...]
Read more...Psychiatric Nursing in Home Health and Care of Patients with Depression
Depression is a common, debilitating mood disorder. It is commonly seen among patients over 65 years of age with chronic medical disorders. To provide care for these individuals, home health agencies are developing psychiatric nursing programs with more frequency. Depressive disorders afflict about 17.6 million Americans each year. Depression is far more common in individuals [...]
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