Home Health & Hospice Week

Information on diagnosis coding, hospice, gas mileage and DME accreditation available in upcoming Eli audioconferences.

• 2009 ICD-9-CM Codes: What They Mean for Home Health. Thurs. Sept. 18, 1 p.m. ET. Now more than ever under the PPS changes, diagnosis coding drives home health reimbursement. Hundreds of new ICD-9 codes take effect Oct. 1 and you no longer have a grace period to transition. Make sure you’re ready to roll by tuning in to this audioconference with expert speaker Judy Adams. 

• How to Add New Life to Your Hospice Volunteer Program. Wed. Sept. 24, 1 p.m. ET. Many hospices struggle to consistently meet the federal requirement for providing volunteer services, let alone boost volunteer participation to improve their quality of care, community reputation and fundraising efforts. Let hospice provider and expert Barbara Gray teach you a simple problem-solving process to grow your volunteer program in a way that meets your hospice’s definition for success.

• Hospice & Critical Care: How to Best Heal Yourself While Helping Others. Mon. Sept. 29, 1 p.m. ET. You know how easy it is to get burned out while working in a hospice or critical care setting. You directly face what others wish to avoid at all costs -- the experiences of illness, pain, life-threatening events, and death. Learning how to relax, release stress, and manage conflict will not only allow you to stay longer in at your job -- it will also help you provide better care for patients and their families. Learn tried-and-true burnout prevention tips from expert speaker Sid Kemp. 

• Minimize Your Mileage Costs: Simple Ways Your HHA Can Save Now. Tues. Oct. 7, 1 p.m. ET. Discover creative ways you can save money on mileage expense. You’ll closely examine employee mileage expenses and driving patterns and find savings you never knew existed -- without compromising patient care and staff satisfaction. Barbara Gray will provide sample tools and ideas that can help even the smallest, least tech-savvy organization identify areas for improvement and track results.

• Mandatory Accreditation: What CMS Now Requires for Your DME Billing. Tues. Oct. 14, 1 p.m. ET. Suppliers of any item counted as DMEPOS must become accredited starting Jan. 1, 2009 to retain the right to bill Medicare. If you’re not accredited by your respective deadline, the NSC will revoke your billing privileges. Start preparing NOW. Mary Ellen Conway will teach you the important details of how to work smoothly through the accreditation process. You’ll walk away with the knowledge and tools to keep your DME billing running smoothly and be in compliance with CMS’ new rules.