Volume 8, Number 43 — October 30, 2019
Dear Healthcare at Home Colleague,
We feature news of interest to nurses and other clinicians this week. But first, just as we were going to press, we read the statement from CMS that they have finalized PDGM details. The headline is that they have backed off a little from their 8.01% behavioral adjustment. They still will not concede that the very idea of reducing payments in advance based on their assumptions of how you might adapt to PDGM is a bad one. But they have temporarily cut the adjustment to 4.36%. The full statement of the rule will be published in the Federal Register on November 8.
Our two lead articles will be of particular interest to our friends on the front line. Staff writer Darcey Trescone, a nurse herself, looked into the growing popularity of Artificial Intelligence and data analytics. Her article, "Technology is Changing How We Practice Nursing," explores the impact of these new technology advances on the practice of nursing.
I interviewed a nurse I met at the NAHC meeting this month and watched a demonstration of her new software system. She built it to deal with the nursing shortage but it will be as beneficial to nurses as it will to the employers needing to fill positions and visits. Read about my chat with Cara Lundstrom, RN, founder and CEO of "Holliblu," in "Nurse Tackles Nursing Shortage with Free App." You will enjoy Cara's app, especially the part about it being free for nurses to use.
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I was intrigued by an article I found about SFF, Small Form Factor computers, so I looked into it in some detail. Some IT industry experts believe these ultra compacts, some as small as 4" by 4", have already made the desktop computer obsolete. If requisitioning and provisioning hardware systems for your office comes under your purview, take a look at what I learned in "Is the Desktop PC Dead?"
This week's briefing includes news from SutureHealth, a description of a different kind of electronic medication adherence manager from cue-Rx, and an easy-to-use location tracker by AngelSense for persons with dementia and children on the autism spectrum.
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The New Mexico Association for Home Care and Hospice holds its annual meeting in Albuquerque on November 7-8. I am honored to be moderating a panel discussion featuring top national experts in interoperability. I hope to see some of you there. The following week, Decision Health hosts its annual Private Duty conference at the Paris Hotel in Las Vegas. Roger McManus and I will be there to announce the release of a vastly upgraded version of our online reputation management software system. Across town, Michael Ferris is holding a Home Health Sales Training Bootcamp, November 12-13 at the Westin Lake Las Vegas Resort. In December, Dixon Healthcare Solutions invites you to parallel seminars for home health and hospice at Bally's in Las Vegas. Scroll down for details about each of these opportunities.
Have a great week. Keep making a difference!
Technology is Changing How We Practice Nursing
The ability to compile data from multiple sources and utilize algorithms to present content, such as potential risks and potential disease trajectory, enhances the role of the nurse and care team.
Nurse Tackles Nursing Shortage with Free App
Startup plans to go nationwide with online community of nurses.
Is the Desktop PC Dead? Meet "Small Form Factor" Computing
Intel's "NUC," AMD's yet unnamed Small Form Factor PC, and Apple's "Mac Mini" may soon escort the familiar PC tower out the same door that welcomed VCRs, CDs, and fax machines.
Vendor Watch
— SutureHealth Launches New Brand
— cue-Rx is a different kind of medication adherence manager
— AngelSense keeps track of persons with dementia and children with autism
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During the 4th Quarter of 2020, web sites of the above advertisers were visited by home care and hospice executives and staff 4319 times. To inquire about placing your message here, contact: Kristin@rowanresources.com As of this date, approximately 35,475,000 Baby Boomers have become Medicare eligible. |
Last Week's Most-Read Stories:
Technology New and Old Makes News at NAHC Conference and Expo
Honor Care Network Adds New Partners in New States
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Webinar: Post-Acute Care Quality Reporting Programs
Presented by: CMS
Date: Thursday, November 14
Time: 2:00 - 3:00 pm EST
Fee: Free
Description: The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) will be hosting a webinar for Medicare-certified hospice providers to provide an overview on Hospital Quality Reporting Program (HQRP) requirements.
During this webinar, CMS subject matter experts will provide information on the following topics:
- Hospice Item Set (HIS) reporting requirements;
- HQRP compliance cycle;
- How to achieve hospice compliance;
- CAHPs survey requirements; and
- How to switch CAHPS survey research vendors.
CMS will answer questions at the end of the webinar as time permits.
Register
Conference: Successful Home Health Transformation
Hosted Dixon Healthcare Solutions, Inc.
Date: December 5-6
Location: Bally's, Las Vegas
Time: 7:00 am - 4:00 pm
Speakers: Richard K. Dixon, Cheryl Peltekis, RN, Meaghan McCormick, Esq., Donna Floyd, RN, BSN, J'non Griffin, RN, MHA, HCS-D, BCCH-C, COS-C, WCC; Annette Lee, RN, MS, HCS-D, COS-C; Cory Mertz, managing partner for a leading healthcare M&A firm.Approved for up to 10 hours of Continuing Nursing Education by Corexcel, an accredited provider by the American Nurses Credentialing Center's Commission on Accreditation.
WEBINAR: Key Documentation Issues for 2020 & the Future
A 90-Minute Lunch & Learn Audio Conference by Elizabeth E. Hogue, Esq. Health Care Attorney
Date: March 18
Time: 1:00 - 2:30 EDT
Encore date: March 25; On-demand recording available
Information and Registration
Documentation remains a key requirement for home care providers as the consequences for inadequate documentation become more severe.
- What can home health agencies do to avoid denials by ZPICs, RACs, etc., for lack of homebound status and reasonable and necessary care?
- What kind of documentation must home health agencies, hospices, private duty agencies and HME companies maintain regarding gifts to referral sources and payments to physicians who make referrals to them?
- How can providers avoid an increase in enforcement action in this area?
- What kinds of documentation problems are private duty agencies facing with regard to recoupments from state Medicaid Programs?
- What dangers do electronic medical records cause for all types of home health providers?
- Is it true that if it wasn't documented, it wasn't done?
Gather your staff members to emphasize effective documentation yet again. Real examples of cases involving problematic documentation will be presented. Questions and case examples are welcome, and extensive handouts will be provided for use by staff members.
Recordings Available: Pandemic Recovery - Rebuild Stronger Than Ever
Texas Association for Home Care and Hospice
Two days of keynote and breakout presentations for home health and hospice providers.
Webinar Series: Sales Training, Home Health and Hospice
Presented by: Healthcare Strategica, LLC
Featuring: Michael Ferris
1 - 8-week Hospice & Palliative Care Sales Training Course2 - 8-week Home Health Sales Training
Rowan Report subscribers: Register with this link to receive $100 discount.
We have taken our best of class industry specific sales training bootcamps and are offering them via Webinar to enable you to continue to train your sales team in today's world of limited travel and social distancing.
The Hospice and Palliative Care course will be offered live every Tuesday starting May 19 through July 7, 2020.
The Home Health course will be offered live every Tuesday starting May 21 through July 9, 2020.
Each class will have participation exercises, homework assignments, quizzes and question and answer opportunities.
Each participant will receive their own course materials and individual coaching and feedback. At the conclusion of the course each student will receive a certificate of completion, an invitation to join the exclusive Sales Mastery Group* and opportunity to join the 52-week Sales Training Excellence Course.*
* Only available to Sales Professionals that have successfully completed the 8-week Sales Training Course – additional fees may apply.
Each session will be offered on-demand and if unable to attend the live webinar, you will be able to view the recording and participate in exercises, questions, coaching and quizzes. If you start after the first webinar date, you will be provided with access to those classes missed so that you can get caught up or you may elect to attend via the recorded sessions.
FREE WEBINAR: How Technology Enhances Home Care in an Increasingly Remote World *
Sponsored by: Care Connect
Moderator: Tim Rowan
Panelists: Mike Gelman, President COO, CareConnect; Jim Rolla, SVP, VNSYNY Partners in Care; Steve Pellito, SVP, Provider Sales, Sandata
Date: November 12
Time: 1:00 pm EDT
The 2021 Home Health Final Rule
Insights to position your agency for success
Sponsored by: WellSky
Featuring: Sharon Harder, president, C3 Advisors; Jill Dyer, BSN, RN, HCS-D, HCS-O, president, JID Consulting and Coding, LLC
Date: November 18
Time: 1:00 - 2:00 ESTAttendees will learn:
- How to prepare for and implement the operational changes imposed by the final rule, including submission of no-pay RAPs within five calendar days of the start of care and changes to the types of non-physician practitioners who can order home health services
- The impact of CMS’s decision to retain the PDGM behavioral adjustment
- The status of proposed legislation aimed to allow home health agencies to bill for telehealth services during public health emergencies and how this change would affect care planning and delivery
FREE WEBINAR: Cybersecurity in Healthcare: Assess Threats & Reduce Your Risk
Presented by: Netsmart
Featuring: Randy Pargman, Binary Defense senior director of threat hunting and counterintelligence; Sharon Hicks, MBA, MSW, OPEN MINDS senior associate; and Mike Murray, Netsmart director of Plexus Technologies,
Date: December 9
Time: 1:00 EST
Healthcare organizations are often at risk of cyberattacks due to a lack of dedicated IT and reliance on traditional reactive approaches. To learn how to protect your data, register now to join Randy Pargman, as they map the risk landscape and provide guidance for safeguarding your organization.
Key takeaways:
• Cyber threats in healthcare
• Impacts of a data breach
• Best practices for securing your data
FREE WEBINAR: Can you collect Cash faster?Sponsored by: Savii
Date: Tuesday, January 12
Time: 2:00 pm EST
With small margins in home care it has prompted the question, “Can we collect cash faster?” And what would this do for an agency? One thing we know is margins are small and have become more challenging than ever to for agencies to profit. This doesn’t mean it impossible for agencies to survive; it means a focus on collecting cash faster will be ever so important.
Agency leaders will first need to develop a timeline cadence of when to address claims based on when they were submitted for payment. In addition it will be pertinent to understand their own agency metrics such as DSO (Daily Sales Outstanding) and how they compare to industry standards.
On this webinar you will walk away with how to develop a timeline and your own DSO dashboard for benchmarking. All of these topics will weave into strategic steps to take toward collecting cash flow faster.
FREE WEBINAR: Return to Work under COVID-19
Presented by: Healthcare Synergy
Featuring: David Mauzey, SVP & General Manager, HealthPointe SolutionsDate: January 14
Time: 11:00 - 11:30 PST
The COVID pandemic has evolved, initial processes in place ensure a safe work force environments but need to evolve to stay effective and efficient. Home health has an extra layer of scrutiny given the population may be at a higher risk. This webinar will focus on how an organization can evolve to keep their workforce and patients safe. HealthPointe Solutions has a full inventory of new and advanced recommendations that help implement and maintain site safety. This includes step-by-step guidance that include medical testing administration strategies, patient/employee monitoring, training/education and program auditing.
Objectives:
David Mauzey has over 25 years' experience in healthcare, helping bring operational efficiency solutions to both providers and payers. Within HealthPointe Solutions, he is responsible for operations and was a part of the team that developed HealthPointe Solutions’ COVID response solutions. Prior to joining HealthPointe Solutions, David served as VP and GM of Optum's Network Payment Innovation, where he focused on alternative payment programs, including bundle d payments and population-centric, value-based programs.
FREE WEBINAR: The Rise of Hospital at Home: A Roundtable Discussion
Sponsored by: AlayaCare
Featuring: Dr. Bruce Leff, Hospital at Home Pioneer & Professor, John Hopkins School of Medicine; Adrian Schauer, Founder and CEO
AlayaCare; Joel Theisen, Founder and CEO, Lifesprk; Brady Murphy, VP Sales & Marketing, AlayaCareDate: Wednesday, January 27
Time: 1:00 EST
Information and RegistrationAgenda
Across the U.S., the Acute Hospital Care at Home initiative from CMS is taking off amid the pandemic with at least 80 approved participants to date. As hospital-at-home models become more popular and more beneficial to both patients and health care organizations, those that have recognized the perks of home-based care prior to the COVID-19 crisis may have the upper hand.
Join us on Wednesday, Jan 27th at 1:00 pm EST for a roundtable discussion with industry experts such as Dr. Bruce Leff, Hospital at Home Pioneer and Professor at John Hopkins School of Medicine who deserves his reputation as a founding father of this virtual hospital concept, to learn about the hospital-at-home model and its impact on the home care industry.
FREE WEBINAR: 5 Key Elements of a Successful Home Health Remote Patient Monitoring Program
Presented by: Amity Healthcare Group
Featuring: Irina Gorovaya, owner and president of Amity Healthcare Group; Erin Vallier, AlayaCare Account Executive; Kaila Raimondo, AlayaCare Solution Engineer
Date: Wednesday, January 27
Time: 2:00 pm EST
Information and Registration
Agenda:
Explore key factors and solutions necessary for successful deployment of patient remote monitoring program in home health.
The discussion will include policies and procedures, documentation, staff education, and telehealth equipment and solutions.
FREE WEBINAR: Rubber Meets the Road with the No-Pay RAP
Sponsored by: KanTime & BlackTree Consulting
Featuring: Nick Seabrook, Managing Principal and Founder, BlackTree; Kim Spence, RN, Director, KanTime Customer Success; Greg Lotz, Director, KanTime Marketing & Sales Technology
Date: February 4
Time: 2:00 ESTAGENDA:
Re-visit regulatory changes and how they have impacted agencies. Plus, tips and tricks to stay ahead of the curve.
Virtual Conference: Winter Leadership Summit
Presented by: National Association for Home Care and Hospice
Date: February 23, 2021
Homecare 100 *
Presented by: Lincoln Healthcare Leadership
Date: June 27-30, 2021
Venue: JW Marriott Marco Island Beach Resort, FL
https://www.homecare100.com/
*The Rowan Report will see you there.
Your state or national association meeting or webinar not listed? Send the details to Conferences@RowanResources.com using this format:
Conference Title
Sponsoring Association
Date(s)
Hotel or Conference Center, City, State
URL
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