Home Health & Hospice Week
Hospice-Paramedic Partnerships Reduce ER Visits
Hospices looking for ways to reduce their costs and build better relationships with their hospital referral partners may want to research “community parademic” programs. Programs in Ventura, Calif. (see Eli’s HCW, Vol. XXV, No. 10), Fort Worth, Texas, and New York City are seeing success in keeping hospice patients out of the emergency room and hospital at end of life, reports a Kaiser Health News story that ran in the Dallas Morning News. The result: lower costs for hospices, prevention of hospital readmissions (and associated financial and quality penalties), and patients who are able to follow through on their wishes to remain at home at end of life. How it works: In Fort Worth, VITAS pays Medstar Mobile Healthcare a set fee per hospice patient who has been flagged in the hospice admissions process as likely to call 911 or end up in the hospital, the News reports. When a hospice patient calls 911, the community paramedic is dispatched along with the regular paramedics to offer in-home support and services in hopes of averting an ER visit and hospitalization. In California, the program run through a state agency works with 20 hospices and sends a community paramedic to any 911 call involving a hospice patient. Under a grant in New York, Long Island based Northwell Health system gives its hospice patients in Queens a 24/7 hospice number — when a patient calls, a community paramedic can be immediately sent, the News says. VITAS stresses to caregivers that a hospice nurse is available around-the-clock, but family members may not feel they can wait for a nurse who might have to drive from an hour away, says VITAS’ John Mezo. “If you’ve ever had to call 911, even five minutes waiting on an ambulance seems like an eternity, right?” Only 20 percent of patients in the first five years of the Fort Worth program ended up going to the ER, the News report. Ambulance transports for hospice patients calling 911 declined in Ventura as well — from 80 percent shortly before the program’s start to 37 percent from August 2015 through December 2016.
Home Health & Hospice Week
- Pre-Claim Review:
FL Agencies Face PCR Starting April 1 — No Exceptions
Illinois agencies improve affirmation rates. Home health agencies in the next state to get hit [...] - Fraud & Abuse:
Check Out The 3 New Safe Harbors Most Likely To Apply To You
Are you considering offering free transportation to your patients? Medicare’s shift in focus to patient [...] - OASIS:
Make Sure You're In Compliance With M1060b Guidelines
New Q&As highlight one exemption. Clinicians completing OASIS have had their hands full with OASIS-C2 [...] - HIPAA:
Use Authentication To Protect Against HIPAA Violations
Make some new priorities related to cyberattacks and hacking. You may be getting a false [...] - Human Resources:
Help Your Employees Deal With Their Baggage
Are your expectations realistic? If you expect your employees to leave their personal issues at [...] - Industry Note:
You Need This Item Before Appealing RAC Denial
Don’t jump the gun. Homecare providers are waiting to see what topics get approved for [...] - Industry Note:
Re-Run These Hospice Reports
If you’ve run any Hospice-Level Quality Measure Reports or Hospice Patient Stay-Level Quality Measure Reports [...] - Industry Note:
Medicaid Fraud Control Units Rack Up Indictments
It’s not just federal authorities who will be scrutinizing you for fraud. State Medicaid Fraud [...] - Industry Note:
Certifying Physician Must Go On Claim
Are you out of compliance with a Medicare claims requirement to put two physicians on [...] - Industry Note:
Medicare Launches CCM Awareness Campaign
Medicare is making a push to raise awareness of its Chronic Care Management services, and [...] - Industry Note:
Physicians Must Document F2F, CMS Stresses
Ahead of Pre-Claim Review’s April 1 launch in Florida, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid [...] - Industry Note:
Hospice-Paramedic Partnerships Reduce ER Visits
Hospices looking for ways to reduce their costs and build better relationships with their hospital [...] - Industry Note:
HHA Owner Indicted For $15 Million Fraud Scheme
A Miami home health agency owner has been indicted on Medicare fraud charges, the Department [...] - Industry Note:
2 Ohio Agency Owners Convicted Of Medicaid Fraud
Two owners of an Ohio home care agency have been found guilty of Medicaid fraud [...]
