Home Health & Hospice Week
DAVE COULD BE LOOKING OVER YOUR SHOULDER
No, DAVE isn't the new guy in billing -it's a new measure designed to increase OASIS data accuracy. Both OASIS data and the Minimum Data Set in nursing homes are the basis of a variety of important functions at the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, noted CMS official Heidi Gelzer in a presentation at the National Association for Home Care & Hospice's annual policy conference April 7 in Washington, DC. CMS uses OASIS and MDS data for Medicare payment, quality, survey, research and other purposes. To make sure that data most accurately represents patients, CMS has implemented the Data Assessment and Verification (DAVE) Contract. The project aims to ferret out areas that are inconsistent or need further analysis, and educate nursing homes and home health agencies on them, Gelzer explained. A big part of the project involves DAVE clinicians shadowing provider clinicians and filling out MDS or OASIS assessments on the same patients at the same time. The DAVE staff and the provider staff then would compare their assessments and talk about the differences, Gelzer said. "There's learning on both sides." Wounds and pressure ulcers are just a few of the hot spots the concurrent assessments have turned up. Right now onsite reviews are taking place only in nursing homes, and only in six test states, she related. CMS expects the nursing home onsite review program to go national in a few months. But it might be quite some time before HHAs get their own DAVE visitors looking over their shoulders. The onsite OASIS reviews are "just in the planning stages," Gelzer added. CMS won't be keeping the DAVE findings to itself or sharing them just with providers, however. In a July 2, 2002 letter to state survey agencies outlining the 2003 survey budget (S&C-02-40), CMS makes clear it will be sharing DAVE accuracy results with the survey agencies. "We anticipate increased [survey agency] involvement and general assistance to providers coordinating activities with DAVE staff and taking enforcement actions as required."
Home Health & Hospice Week
- Survey & Certification:
SCOUR THESE 5 OASIS REPORTS -BEFORE YOUR SURVEYOR DOES
A radically new blueprint for surveyor action goes into effect May 1, but you can [...] - OASIS:
DAVE COULD BE LOOKING OVER YOUR SHOULDER
No, DAVE isn't the new guy in billing -it's a new measure designed to increase [...] - Competitive Bidding:
ALTERNATIVE TO BIDDING GETS OFF TO SLOW START
A project that gives Medicare beneficiaries control over how Medicare spends their allotted money has [...] - Accreditation:
JCAHO PLANS SURPRISE SURVEYS
The latest move by the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations is likely to [...] - Coding:
SUPPLIERS DIVIDE AND CONQUER DISPUTED CODE
Want to write your own codes? Build a big tent and invite everyone in. That's [...] - Diagnosis Coding:
V IS FOR VICTORY IN GAINING CORRECT REIMBURSEMENT
Remember way back last summer when the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services said it [...] - Appeals:
DMERC REPS GET CUSTOMER-SERVICE SPIRIT
The next time you call your durable medical equipment regional carrier, you may be on [...] - Reimbursement:
CAP-RELATED BONUSES A NO-NO, PRRB AFFIRMS
In the murky world of owners' compensation, at least one thing seems clear; if you [...] - Industry Notes:
HOME HEALTH AMENDMENT SPARKS PARTISAN BICKERING
The full House Ways & Means Committee has passed legislation calling for Medicare regulatory and [...] - CMS Worksheet -- Page 1
- CMS Worksheet -- Page 2
