HEALTHCARE AT HOME:
THE  ROWAN TECHNOLOGY REPORT

Serving the home health, home care and hospice industry since 1999.

OPEN DOOR FORUM

Target: Home Health Agencies
"Quality of Patient Care Star Ratings Algorithm Call"
Wednesday, June 27
2:00 to 3:00 EDT

Register here for the next Medicare Learning Network event. Call will deal with proposed modifications to the way CMS calculates Home Health Quality of Patient Care star ratings, including:

  • Removal of the Drug Education on All Medications Provided to Patient/Caregiver during All Episodes of Care measure
  • Addition of the Improvement in Oral Medications measure

CMS presents the rationale, proposed timing, and impact of these changes. A question and answer session follows the presentation.


Free CMS Trainings

"You asked," CMS proclaims, "and we listened!" At the 2018 CMS National Training Program (NTP) Workshops, you can expect two days of tailored training to meet a variety of learning needs. Whether you are building a foundation of basic Medicare knowledge, or you want to expand your expertise, there is something for everyone. You can attend the entire 2-day workshop, or only the days that meet your varied interests and needs.

Day 1 provides the basics. Day 2 has cross-cutting information including legislative and program updates, and Day 3 provides a deeper dive into more advanced topics. It will be helpful if you bring a laptop or tablet to participate in the casework activities.

Workshop locations and dates are listed below.

Region VII—Kansas
July 31–August 2
The Westin Kansas City at Crown Center
1 E Pershing Road Kansas City, MO 64108

Region II—New York
August 6–8
New York Hilton Midtown
1335 6th Avenue New York, NY 10019

Region X—Seattle
August 14–16
The Artic Club Seattle
700 3rd Avenue Seattle, WA 98104

Region IV—Atlanta
September 5–7
Loews Atlanta Hotel
1065 Peachtree St NE Atlanta, GA 30309

Region VIII—Denver
September 11–13
Marriott Westminster
7000 Church Ranch Boulevard Westminster, CO 80021


Hospitals killing fewer patients

Data released today by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) show continued progress in improving patient safety, a signal that initiatives led by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) are helping to make care safer. National efforts to reduce hospital-acquired conditions, such as adverse drug events and injuries from falls helped prevent an estimated 8,000 deaths and save $2.9 billion between 2014 and 2016, according to the report.

The AHRQ National Scorecard on Hospital-Acquired Conditions estimates that 350,000 hospital-acquired conditions were avoided and the rate was reduced by 8 percent from 2014 to 2016. Federal experts note that the gains in safety among hospital patients echoed earlier successes, including 2.1 million hospital-acquired conditions avoided between 2010 and 2014.

To view the AHRQ report, please visit: https://www.ahrq.gov/professionals/quality-patient-safety/pfp/index.html 

For a fact sheet on CMS-led patient safety efforts, please visit: https://www.cms.gov/Newsroom/MediaReleaseDatabase/Fact-sheets/2018-Fact-sheets-items/2018-06-05.html