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Medicare trustees released their annual report in mid-March, and the picture they painted was not pretty. Costs are projected to triple over the next 75 years, and if the gap between revenues and expenditures doesnt narrow, at worst the fund will be depleted; at best, benefits will be significantly reduced.
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This is the first part of a two-part series on improving emergency department reimbursement under ambulatory payment classifications.
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If the nursing documentation in your emergency department is lacking key information, your facility may not be getting all the reimbursement it deserves. More important, inadequate nursing documentation can open the door for costly legal action down the road.
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Health care providers have used severity adjustment tools at the state level since the 1980s. From both a cost-accounting and a planning standpoint, these statistical tools have helped providers define patterns of illness, establish accepted treatment protocols, and cut costs. The next step, says Darice Grzybowski, MA, RHIA, FAHIMA, is increasing the use of severity adjustment tools.
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An RN recently sued a home health agency in Pittsburgh based upon case management practices. Specifically, the RN received copies of case management forms for a specific patient on two separate occasions. Both case management forms included a section in which the special needs of patients could be noted.
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Editors note: This is the second of a two-part series that looks at family caregiver issues such as education, stress, burnout, and support. Last month, experts talked about the educational needs of family caregivers and how a home health nurse can recognize caregiver burnout. In this months article, different programs to support caregivers and different approaches to offering care to home health patients are discussed.
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All home health managers have heard that they should market to referral sources to build their referral base. How to market without triggering accusations of buying referrals is the tricky part, says Denise Bonn, JD, counsel for Schmeltzer, Aptaker & Shepard, a Washington, DC, law firm with specialists in home health.
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CMS reminds providers about hospice care; Unannounced JCAHO surveys start in 2006
