Home Health & Hospice Week

Be sure you're collecting data now or lose money in 2014.Hospices' problems with one of the two quality measures Medicare is using hasn't stopped CMS from requiring data collection on it.Back in July, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services proposed continuing data collection on two measures for hospices: the structural measure on whether a hospice has a Quality Assessment and Performance Improvement (QAPI) program that includes at least three quality indicators related to patient care; and National Quality Forum-endorsed measure #209 on pain management.Multiple commenters on the proposed rule expressed concern about #209. Patients who report pain upon admission, but then are unable to respond 48 hours later, should be excluded from the measure, many hospices said. Or others such as caregivers or clinicians should be able to report in their place (see Eli's HCW, Vol. XXI, No. 37)."We ... acknowledge potential issues with measure specifications that were detailed [...]