Home Health & Hospice Week
Benchmark Yourself Against These LOS Stats
Are your length of stay stats for non-cancer patients making you stick out like a sore thumb to medical reviewers? Find out by checking Palmetto GBA’s latest NCLOS rates based on claims from the first half of 2013.
For example: Alzheimer’s patients have the longest average LOS at 220 days for the HHH Medicare Administrative Contractor’s entire region, Palmetto says. Renal patients have the shortest average LOS at 42 days.
To view the rates, which Palmetto breaks out by region, state, and provider, go to www.PalmettoGBA.com/hhh; click on the "Articles" tab in the left column and select "Hospice" from the drop-down menu; scroll down to the "Non-Cancer Length of Stay (NCLOS) Rates: January 1-June 30, 2013" link; and scroll down to end of the article to access the PDF documents with the rate charts.
"While these quantitative data do not necessarily reflect the appropriate or inappropriate provision of hospice services under Medicare, they do allow for the identification of trends and possible educational opportunities," Palmetto notes.
Home Health & Hospice Week
- Regulations:
CMS Revises Guidance To Make Your F2F Load Heavier
Don’t miss these 4 new F2F timepoints for hospitalized and managed care patients. Your patient’s [...] - Strategy:
Take These Steps To Combat F2F Denials
Don’t be afraid to appeal face-to-face denials. Medicare’s latest F2F guidance revision gives home health [...] - Medical Review:
MAC Targets Entire State As High-Risk Area For Home Health
Will your area be next on medical reviewers’ hit list for home care? Home health [...] - Hospice:
The Pressure Is On Get Dementia Coding Right
Always follow coding guidelines for accuracy. Medicare’s recent hospice payment final rule for 2014 shows [...] - Diagnosis Coding:
What is Dementia?
Understand the characteristics behind the diagnosis. Dementia is classified as a psychotic organic disorder, says [...] - Industry Note:
OIG Wants More Frequent Hospice Surveys
Hospice goes 22 years with no surveys. Does getting surveyed about once a decade sound [...] - Industry Note:
Watch Out For These Therapy Denials
For home health agencies furnishing Part B outpatient therapy services in the home, don’t be [...] - Industry Note:
Study Shows Home Care Saves Money On Rehospitalizations
A Medicaid transitional care program that includes home visits has reduced hospital readmissions by 20 [...] - Industry Note:
CMS Solicits Feedback On Hospice Quality Data
Information CMS soon will collect from hospices will help shape your hospice quality data reporting [...] - Industry Note:
Benchmark Yourself Against These LOS Stats
Are your length of stay stats for non-cancer patients making you stick out like a [...] - Industry Note:
Facebook Posts Lead To Nurse Suspension, Firing
Is getting fired for Facebook comments the least that can happen to employees? One nurse [...] - Industry Note:
Avoid These Record Correction Pitfalls, MAC Warns
Are you committing some of the major record correction no-nos that HHH Medicare Administrative Contractor [...] - Industry Note:
Don't Resubmit These Claims, MAC Instructs
Hold off on resubmitting claims denied for an incarcerated beneficiary. "Please do not resubmit claims [...] - Industry Note:
Insurer Gets Into Home Care Business
Insurer Cigna Corp. is getting into the home care business, although it’s home care provided [...]
