Home Health & Hospice Week

Proposed rule fails to address crucial face-to-face problems.A small change to face-to-face physician encounter requirements contained in the 2013 PPS proposed rule isn't offering much relief to home health agencies overwhelmed with F2F difficulties.Like in outpatient settings, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services now wants to allow non-physician practitioners to perform the F2F visit in an inpatient facility. CMS proposes "to allow an NPP in an acute or post-acute facility to perform the face-to-face encounter in collaboration with or under the supervision of the physician who has privileges and cared for the patient in the acute or post-acute facility, and allow such physician to inform the certifying physician of the patient's homebound status and need for skilled services," according to the 2013 home health prospective payment system proposed rule published in the July 13 Federal Register.Physician Compliance With F2F Bedevils Agencies"Any concession is helpful," acknowledges clinical consultant Pam Warmack [...]