Dear Healthcare at Home Colleague,
(Remember, if you're too busy to read, click on the "Listen" button and my podcast will summarize this week's news for you.)
Is Medicaid in trouble? The first state has submitted a Section 1115 waiver application to HHS. Others may follow. Section 1115 is a request to allow a state to accept Medicaid block grant funding, replacing the usual proportional Federal cost-sharing funding.
Our guest author this week, Raymond Feierabend, is a retired physician and professor emeritus of Family Medicine at East Tennessee State University. He is gravely concerned about moves his state has made to limit access to Medicaid. If you are a Tennessee Medicaid provider, or a provider in any state that has chosen not to accept additional Medicaid funds from the Affordable Care Act, Dr. Feierabend's detailed opinion piece, Physician Concerned About TennCare's Future, is must reading.
Home Care, Hospice Behind with Interoperability
Equally important to post-acute providers on all levels is a survey conducted by Porter Research and sponsored by our friends at Brightree. It has a disturbing finding. After learning interoperability and electronic referrals are extremely important, the survey found 4 percent of post-acute providers are capable of exchanging patient data electronically. See "Interoperability Importance Underscored by New Survey" below.
Invention Saves Caregiver Backs
Do your in-home caregivers ever have to move patients who cannot walk on their own to and from the bathroom? Typically, getting from a bed or chair to a wheelchair for transport to a toilet and back again can involve eight to ten lifts, each one an injury risk. We discovered a potential solution to this risk in an invention that we think will be popular once it moves from prototype to manufacture. Our review of the "Bottoms-Up SwingChair" includes links to a video that explains better than our words might how this invention will help.
New PDGM Survival Tools
Axxess sent us an announcement about PDGM tools it has already made available to users of its home health EMR.
Payment Problem for Hospices
CMS sent us an important reminder to hospices about reconsideration requests for the FY 2020 Annual Payment Update.
Worth the Trip
Will you be joining me at Lincoln Health's "Senior Care 360" conference at the Gaylord in National Harbor, Maryland at the end of this month? It promises to be an excellent opportunity to explore the theme of our series of articles about the importance of interoperability. There will be colleagues there from skilled nursing, senior living, home care and hospice. I look forward to the opportunity to hear them talk to each other about care coordination.
Have a great week. Keep making a difference!
Tim Rowan
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Interoperability Importance Underscored by New Survey
Survey reveals that 60 percent of referral sources would switch to a Home Health and Hospice provider that can accept electronic referrals from its EMR, while only 4% are able to do so today. |
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Physician Concerned About TennCare's Future
A retired Tennessee physician and professor believes his state is shredding its medical safety net. |
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CMS News: Reminder to Hospices
A July 24 CMS briefing sent a firm reminder to hospices and other Medicare providers. |
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Product Review: "Bottoms-Up Swing Chair" Eases Care of Non-Mobile Patients
This new invention may not technically be a technology but we find it innovative, especially thinking back to family members who could have used it. |
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Axxess to Provide Clients With Technology Tools to Prepare for PDGM
EMR company to provide Revenue Impact Analyzer and Case-Mix Impact Analyzer plus a PDGM Resource Center. |
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During the 2nd Quarter of 2019, web sites of the above advertisers were visited by home care and hospice executives and staff 2157 times. To inquire about placing your message here, contact: Kristin@rowanresources.com |
| Last Week's Most-Read Stories: |
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The 5 Things You Need to Know to Successfully Implement An EMR Mitigate the frustration that comes with implementation and enhance post implementation buy-in by implementing your EMR correctly. |
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Brightree Executive Advocates Interoperability Standards Brightree's Nick Knowlton has been a CommonWell Health Alliance board member for five years. Few have his insights into the movement toward interoperability. |
| As of this date, approximately 34,397,000 Baby Boomers have become Medicare eligible. |
| Notable Upcoming Conferences | Free Webinars |
3rd Interoperability Forum This event will bring people together from ONC, the healthcare industry, and the technology sector to:
Attendees will hear keynotes from industry influencers, have the opportunity to view demos showcasing innovative solutions and participate in tracks focused on various aspects of interoperability. Co-led by industry leaders and supported by ONC experts, the tracks will provide an opportunity to discuss the latest issues and identify actions that can be taken to address key barriers to interoperability in a group setting. Who: Health IT standards and technology community, including developers, policymakers, technology staff at provider organizations, and consumers.
How we care for our aging population is one of the most daunting and important challenges we face as family members, as community builders, as leaders in our industry. That’s why Honor is launching SAGE/2019, a day of inspiring keynotes, lively panel discussions, and intimate conversations on the most compelling topics in senior care and wellness. We’re bringing together thinkers and doers, innovators and entrepreneurs, academics and leaders in healthcare and home care. You’ll meet creative thinkers who are shifting the narrative about aging, company founders who are driving change, and visionaries who are imagining what’s possible in the future. This is a unique opportunity to network with thought leaders, peers, and potential partners, to revolutionize how we think about aging, and, most importantly, to take action.
Join renowned agency mentors Cheryl Peltekis and Melanie Stover for an owners' and executives' ONLY event focusing on how to survive and thrive in this rapidly changing environment. Cheryl and Melanie will break down exactly how to maximize your agency’s growth during this time of disruption in an easy to follow system you can use, over and over.
*The Rowan Report will see you there. Your state or national association meeting not listed? Send the details to Conferences@RowanResources.com using this format: |
How to Satisfy the OIG's Requirements for Fraud and Abuse Compliance Training Featuring: Elizabeth E. Hogue, Esq. Date: Wednesday, August 7 Available on demand after broadcast date. Information and Registration The OIG requires that home care providers of all types must provide effective training on fraud and abuse compliance for employees early in their employment and on at least an annual basis thereafter. Let us help you satisfy these requirements by participating in this teleconference! Whether you are a home health agency, hospice, HME company or private duty agency, gather your staff members together for this teleconference to satisfy the OIG's requirements. Participants will learn about three major types of fraud and abuse: false claims, kickbacks, and violations of the Stark law. Practical examples in the home care industry will be emphasized with concrete guidance about what to do about possible violations. The teleconference will also focus on how employees should raise concerns about possible fraudulent conduct internally before they even consider going outside the company.
Representatives from the EMDI Initiative team will discuss interoperability using health IT standards, including Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources (FHIR). Participants will learn about pilot opportunities with CMS to enhance provider workflow using three critical use cases. Participants will:
Webinar hosts, send your announcements to: Conferences@RowanResources.com |
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Home Care Technology Report is published by Rowan Consulting Associations, Inc., Colorado Springs, CO. All rights reserved. Request reprint permission by writing to editor@homecaretechreport.com.