Volume 8, Number 43 — October 9, 2019
Dear Healthcare at Home Colleague,
(I am testing a new layout this week. Let us know what you think of it.)
Just as we thought the next chapter in our PDGM series of interviews with experts would be our lead article in this week's issue, WellSky called us Tuesday to let us know they had just that morning signed a deal to acquire ClearCare. We spoke with CEO Bill Miller to get the full story. His comments appear within the press release that was sent out Tuesday.
In our ongoing effort to help Medicare home health providers prepare for a new payment system, we continue our series of PDGM interviews with people we consider to offer the best advice. This week, two CEOs who have been involved with improving clinical documentation and coding for most of their careers. Select Data's Ed Buckley, himself a former HHA owner, and OperaCare's Michael McGowan, a former OASIS coordinator for CMS Region 9, offer a rare positive take on PDGM as well as specific preparatory tactics you should be deploying right now.
Tip: To find all previous articles in this series, use the SEARCH engine on The Rowan Report web site. Enter PDGM in the search field.
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Loyal reader and consultant John Reisinger, of Innovative Financial Solutions for Home Health, alerted us to an appeals court decision that involved one hospice provider but will reverberate throughout Medicare. MACs, ZPICs, UPICs, and RACs have been barred from turning a simple payment denial into a False Claims Act accusation. Read the details about this major court decision in "Court Sides With Medicare Providers Against CMS Auditors."
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It may still only be about physicians using telemedicine, but a new presidential executive order instructs CMS to find ways to use technology, especially remote technologies, to promote more use of Medicare Advantage and reduce costs. See "Executive Order Promotes Telehealth and MA."
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It goes without saying, I look forward to seeing you in Seattle next week at the NAHC 2019 Conference & Expo. I'll be in Booth #301 in the exhibit hall. As you explore, be sure to seek out the sponsors that make this free service possible. Maybe even thank them for their support. Here is where you will find them in the exhibit hall:
Have a great week. Keep making a difference!
BREAKING NEWS: WellSky to Acquire Clearcare
As strong demographic and cost trends drive greater demand for personal care, newest addition facilitates WellSky's long-term strategy of helping providers better manage healthcare costs.
Coding and OASIS Experts Deliver Severe PDGM Forecasts
In this episode of our ongoing PDGM series, we spoke with three experts this week. They have intimate knowledge of claims data, OASIS and other clinical documentation errors, and coding rule changes.
Court Sides With Medicare Providers Against CMS Auditors
CMS auditors can no longer file a False Claims Act indictment just because their doctor disagrees with yours.
Executive Order Promotes Telehealth and MA
Physicians still at the center of proposed telehealth expansion, though CMS is encouraged to find system-wide cost-saving innovations.
Axxess to Share Positive PDGM Perspective at NAHC Conference
Software company's staff will be featured in five NAHC education presentations.
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During the 3rd Quarter of 2020, web sites of the above advertisers were visited by home care and hospice executives and staff 3691 times. To inquire about placing your message here, contact: Kristin@rowanresources.com As of this date, approximately 35,244,000 Baby Boomers have become Medicare eligible. |
Last Week's Most-Read Stories:
Eight Facebook "Nevers"
Vendor Watch
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WEBINAR: 5 Crucial Ways to Prepare for PDGM
Sponsored by: HealthCare Synergy
Featuring: Michael Tidd, LVN, COS-C, COS-D
Dates: November 13
Time: 10:00 am PST / 1:00 am EST
Information and RegistrationAgencies are rapidly trying to prepare for the PDGM payment model. We will show you the most crucial ways an agency can prepare for the internal changes needed for PDGM. While most agencies are focusing on how to instruct clinicians on the change, PDGM has the most impact on office functions. Attend and gain insight on the things the agency needs to be doing now to prepare for January 1, 2020.
Objectives:
1. Learn agency level changes that can be implemented to be successful in 2020
2. Understand how to approach budgeting and finances under PDGM
3. What do your clinicians really need to know to ensure the agencies continued successMichael Tidd has over 19 years of experience in the Home Care Industry and is a frequent speaker at HealthCare Synergy Workshops and Webinars. He is a Software Developer, LVN and Certified in ICD-9/10 Coding and OASIS (COS-C, HCS-D). As the Clinical Manager for HealthCare Synergy, he directs the Outsourced Management Services, assists in directing the development of the Healthcare Assistant Web Edition, oversees the Clinical Documentation Auditing provided to clients and directs the Clinical Form Development for the Healthcare Assistant Web Edition. Michael continues to educate agencies in the ongoing regulations that CMS produces, the proper application of the Medicare Conditions of Participation and completing timely, accurate and defendable clinical documentation to survive in the current Medicare Reimbursement Model.
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: PDGM Preparation: Operational StrategiesSponsored by Kornetti & Krafft Health Care Solutions & MedBridge
Date: December 5
Time: 1:00 pm EST
Knowing that resources are tight as PDGM approaches, Kornetti & Krafft is offering a free overview of OASIS D1 to ensure that changes to this critical data collection instrument do not get lost in the shuffle.
What is Included:
- Highlight key differences between OASIS D and D1
- Make an informed decision about the use of "=" as a response
- As an outsourced OASIS/Coding company, the most commonly seen OASIS errors and proven strategies for success will be included.
Homecare 100 *January 19-22
JW Marriott Miami Turnberry Resort
Miami, FL
https://www.homecare100.com/
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.
Virtual Conference: Virtual Summit on Health System Recovery from the COVID-19 Pandemic
The Nation’s Health System Leaders Engage in a Real-Time Dialogue on Pandemic Recovery and the Future of Health Care in America
Sponsored by: Global Health Care, LLC
Featuring:
- David Brailer, MD, PhD, Executive Chairman, Health Evolution, Former National Coordinator for Health Information Technology, Former CEO, CareScience
- Bruce D. Broussard, MBA President and CEO, Humana, Former Chair and Chief Executive Officer, US Oncology
- Michael W. Cropp, MD, MBA President and CEO, Independent Health, Chairman, Alliance of Community Health Plans
- Wyatt Decker, MD, MBA CEO, OptumHealth
Date: June 22-25
The Nation’s Health System Leaders Engage in a Real-Time Dialogue on Pandemic Recovery and the Future of Health Care in America
All health care providers offering full-time, hands-on services to COVID patients click here to register at no cost.
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.
Virtual Conference: NAHC Financial Managers Annual Meeting
July 27-30
Free Webinar: Carpe Diem: Now is the Ideal Time to Excavate Your Brand Genius
A complimentary webinar & roundtable discussion for executive business leaders
Featuring: Mary Maloney
Date: September 11
Time: 12:00 - 12:45 EDTNow more than ever we need leaders ready to own a new world narrative - those who are brave enough to strategically position and message their voice in the marketplace from a deeper perspective of purpose that connects directly to what lights them up (their brand genius).
Many leaders confess that they have forgotten their greatness or feel lost in a sea of sameness, amongst a fiercely competitive set. They say they struggle with what words will resonate or feel “salesy” when asked, “What do you do?”
Thanks to the pace of technology, we have less than seconds to connect, therefore, it’s no longer all about what you do for a living and the quantifiable goals you achieved; it’s much more about what you stand for, the legacy you want to leave and building trust expeditiously with your tribe.
If 82% of people make buying decisions based on emotion (Capgemini), what emotive messages are you sending?
This webinar will start you on your journey to deliberately make your personal brand come alive.
PIVOT. PREPARE. PROSPER.
The 2020 Annual Conference of the Association for Home and Hospice Care of North Carolina
September 28-30
This year's conference will be presented onlineSign up to hear presentations by:
- Arif Kamal, MD, MBA, MHS, Medical Oncologist, Palliative Medicine Specialist, Physician Quality and Outcomes Officer for the Duke Cancer Institute
- Bill Dombi, President, National Association for Home Care & Hospice
- Edo Banach, President/CEO, National Hospice & Palliative Care Organization (NHPCO)
- Vicki, Hoak, Executive Director, Home Care Association of America (HCAOA)
- Tim Rogers, President/CEO, Association for Home & Hospice Care of North Carolina and South Carolina Home Care & Hospice Association
- Josh Stein, North Carolina Attorney General
- Tracy Colvard, VP of Government Relations & Public Policy, AHHC of NC
- Julia Adams-Scheurich, Owner, Oak City Government Relations, Lobbyist, AHHC of NC
- Matt Wolfe, Partner, Parker Poe Adams & Bernstein, Legal Counsel & Lobbyist, AHHC of NC
Free Webinar: Preparation For A New Normal — Infection Control
Presented by: Savii
Featuring: James Cohen, CEO, Nevvon
Date: October 20
Time: 1:00 EDT
Fee: FreeThis webinar is catered to home care agency owners, HR, operations, nursing and marketers.
You will learn:
- How infection control will change home care
- What we learned from COVID-19
- How to increase your census
FREE WEBINAR: How Technology Enhances Home Care in an Increasingly Remote World *
Sponsored by: Care Connect
Moderator:Panelists: 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
Virtual Conference: Southwest Homecare and Hospice
A collaborative online conference by the home care associations of:
- Arizona
- Colorado
- Louisiana
- New Mexico
- Oklahoma
- Utah
- and the Arizona Hospice and Palliative Care Organization
Date: November 18-19
Experience recognized experts and thought leaders as they share their insights, actionable strategies, and relevant tools and resources.
*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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