Home Health & Hospice Week

Also, check out Eli audioconferences on 2015 home health prospective payment system changes and hospice admissions.

You can receive vital information on these topics from the comfort of your own office:

• Continued Survey Readiness — Focus to Avoid Conditions and Sanctions. Wed. March 18, 1 p.m. ET. Survey deficiencies, including Condition-level deficiencies, are on an all-time rise. And beginning in July, HHAs can have daily monetary sanctions imposed for condition level and repeat standard level deficiencies. Longtime surveyor and consultant Sharon Litwin will show you how to maintain continued survey readiness without a lot of busy work. For more information, go to www.audioeducator. com/home-health/continued-survey-readiness-03-18-2015.html or call 1-866-458-2965.

• Face-to-Face After PPS 2015 and Other Regulatory Changes. Thurs. March 26, 1 p.m. ET. The FY2015 PPS final rule implemented a major change to the face-to-face requirement —  it eliminated the narrative. However, in its place agencies are now dependent upon the physician’s documentation to support the certification. Join attorney Robert W. Markette Jr. as he reviews the issues created by the new F2F regulation, the status of related litigation and other regulatory updates including the proposed Conditions of Participation. For more information go to www.audioeducator.com/home-health/face-to-face-after-pps-2015-other-changes-03-26-2015.html or call 1-866-458-2965.

You also can order recordings or transcripts of these recent audio conferences:

• Helping Clinicians Make the Connection Between Eligibility & Care Planning. As patients decline, the plan of care should reflect changes with an increase in intensity of care and frequencies. Having a dynamic plan of care helps support eligibility and is used as a road map for care for all members of the interdisciplinary team. Assessments drive care planning. The more comprehensive and descriptive the assessments, the better care planning, and ultimately the care of the patient. All too often, clinicians separate eligibility from care planning. In this session, expert speaker Charlene Ross will explore the fine art of tying eligibility assessment to effective care planning. She will also provide strategies to help managers support the staff in making the connection, so all eligible patients receive the care they need. For more information, go to www.audioeducator.com/hospice/eligibility-and-care-planning-03-10-2015.html or call 1-866-458-2965.

• Are you ready for the 2015 Home Health PPS Changes? Home health agencies need to look toward changes in their approach to providing home health services to be able to survive continual reimbursement changes and remain a viable option in the health care continuum. This session by expert speaker Judy Adams provides an overview of the HH PPS final rule provisions that are impacting home health agencies in 2015, along with suggestions for strategies to survive the ongoing payment reductions that accompany the home health rebasing plan. For more information go to www.audioeducator.com/home-health/home-health-pps-coding-updates-01-15-2015.html or call 1-866-458-2965.

• Off to a Good Start — Hospice Quality of Care and Regulatory Considerations. There is a great flurry of activity when getting someone under hospice care — information gathering, information sharing, certification, election, and more. Both the hospice Medicare Conditions of Participation and Conditions of Payment spell out specific actions required at the time of an admission to hospice care. In this informative session, expert Susan Balfour reviews the actions, explores some common problem areas and, most importantly, sheds light on the program from the perspective of the patient and the caregivers. This audio conference is developed to help hospices get it all straight and do things the right way. For more information go to www.audioeducator.com/hospice/quality-of-care-02-12-2015.html. v

Note: To browse and register for Eli home care and hospice audioconferences, go to www.audioeducator.com and select “home health” or “hospice” from the blue bar at the top. Or call 1-866-458-2965. All sessions are available via CD or transcript after taking place.