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OASIS Alert

Reimbursement:
M0175 RECOUPMENT PROCESS SUSPENDED
Appeal and collection procedures raise questions.M0175 adjustments for the first year of t... Read more
Education:
DON'T CONFUSE AN OSTOMY WITH A 'TAKE-DOWN' IN M0440
Question: When a gastrostomy is closed as a "take-down" surgical procedure, the patient ha... Read more
Assessment:
M0250 ERRORS CAN COST YOU $600 PER EPISODE
Understanding the clarifications is crucial for M0250 success.Checking one of the first th... Read more
Outcomes:
USE OASIS ANSWERS TO GUIDE HOSPICE REFERRALS
Don't avoid the difficult hospice conversation.Improve outcomes--and provide better patien... Read more
Compliance:
THERAPY INVESTIGATION TOPS THE OIG'S 'TO DO' LIST
2006 Work Plan targets four home care areas.If you haven't tightened up your therapy claim... Read more
Quality Improvement:
FEDS CHOOSE YOUR QUALITY IMPROVEMENT FOCUS FOR 2006
Expect to work on two assigned OASIS-based measures.Ready or not, it's time for home healt... Read more
Diagnosis Coding:
SAFEGUARD YOUR CLAIMS WITH THESE DIABETES TYPE TIPS
Hint:  Insulin is not the answer to the type question.After years as a clinician, you... Read more
OASIS News:
INACCURATE CODING DRAWS WIDESPREAD INTERMEDIARY PROBES
Some primary diagnoses are suspect after the initial episode.Diagnosis coding errors are c... Read more
Reader Question:
GETTING TO THE TOILET IS NOT THE SAME AS A TRANSFER
Question: We have a patient who can safely get to and from the toilet using a walker, so t... Read more
Therapy:
THERAPY AUDITS PAY BIG FOR FEDS--ARE YOU READY?
Look to three recent OIG audits for guidance. While you're concentrating on medical necess... Read more
Compliance:
5 KEYS HELP YOU AVOID THERAPY DENIALS
Heed: OIG therapy audits results to make your claims tough to deny.You can't do anything a... Read more
Reimbursement:
CREATE A TEAM APPROACH TO PROSPER UNDER PPS
5 tips to improve collaboration.You could have the most accurate coder on Earth, but if th... Read more
Diagnosis Coding:
DON'T LET ORDINARY WORDS TRIP YOU UP
Small words give you quick guidance in answering M0230, M0240 and M0245--if you understand... Read more
M0175:
DON'T MISS YOU CHANCE TO CHALLENGE M0175 ADJUSTMENTS
A little detective work could save you $600 per episode.If you've been improving your abil... Read more
Risk Management:
PREVENT OASIS ASSESSMENT LEGAL PROBLEMS
10 ways to protect yourself.What you don't write in your assessment may be as important as... Read more
Education:
BE AWARE THAT 'INTERFERES' DIFFERS FROM 'INTERRUPTS'
True or False: When answering M0420 (Frequency of pain interfering with patient's activity... Read more
OASIS News:
INTERMEDIARY SEES PROBLEM WITH V58.3
Use aftercare not wound care in M0230.If V58.3 raises a red flag for your intermediary, it... Read more
Reader Questions:
CUT OUT SKIN ULCER IDENTIFICATION PROBLEMS
Question: In my agency, I find that nurses have a very difficult time differentiating skin... Read more
Home Health Compare:
PREPARE TO COMPARE 3 NEW OUTCOMES
Compare Asilos de Ancianos.For months--or years--you've worked to improve the outcomes the... Read more
Education:
CLARIFY YOUR DEFINITION OF 'CHANGE' FOR M0200 ACCURACY
Question: When answering M0200 (Medical or Treatment Regimen Change Within Past 14 Days), ... Read more
Assessment:
SHOW YOUR STAFF WHY THESE ITEMS AFFECT YOUR REPUTATION
It's time to focus on a topic many people hesitate to discuss.Master these five critical M... Read more
Quality Improvement:
ARE YOU READY FOR THESE HOME HEALTH COMPARE CHANGES?
With agencies showing steady progress, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services ra... Read more
Reimbursement:
DON'T WAIT UNTIL CHRISTMAS TO CORRECT CLAIMS ERRORS
You could be forfeiting up to $10,000 to $60,000.You probably wouldn't send the feds a Chr... Read more
Diagnosis Coding:
CLEAN UP THOSE CHEAT SHEETS--CODING CHANGES ARE HERE AGAIN
Out with the old, in with the new, as of October 1.Change is hard, but if you don't learn ... Read more
Regulations:
CMS ALLOWS ABBREVIATED OASIS ASSESSMENTS FOR DISASTER VICTIMS
Some requirements suspended, but documentation is still vital.With chaos still reigning af... Read more
PPS:
CHECK M0175 TAKEBACKS WHILE YOU STILL HAVE A CHANCE
Your intermediary has a holiday present for you.If you were dreaming the M0175-induced rec... Read more
OASIS News:
CMS TRANSLATES OUTCOME REPORT METHODOLOGY INTO PLAIN ENGLISH
Case mix translation yet to come.It's taken years of asking for a simpler way to understan... Read more
Reader Question:
'ONLY' MAY NOT MEAN WHAT YOU THINK IN M0810
Question: Is a continuous positive airway pressure machine (C-PAP) one of the equipment it... Read more
Survey & Certification:
Act Now To Reduce Medication Error Risks
Improve outcomes at the same time. Neglecting to include an accurate medication review in ... Read more
Test Your OASIS Savvy ...
Question: When answering M0570 (When Confused), you should consider confusion reported or ... Read more
Compliance:
Improve Medication Assessment And Management With These Tips
Don't let lack of compliance lead you astray. You may have to be a detective to find out w... Read more
Reimbursement:
Don't Waste Money Assessing Non-Homebound Patients
'Considerable and taxing' may not be enough. Remember to check and document homebound stat... Read more
Diagnosis Coding:
Beware New Diabetes Coding Edit
Diabetic ulcers require careful coding. Now's the time to check coding accuracy for your d... Read more
OASIS News:
Therapy Crackdown Strikes Another Agency
The HHS Office of Inspector General has hit another home health agency with huge overpayme... Read more
Reader Question:
OASIS Assessment Crucial To Medicare Payment Process
Question: We have a patient we have only been seeing under the Medicaid Waiver for aide se... Read more
Reimbursement:
SCIC MISUNDERSTANDS DRAIN AGENCY COFFERS
Plug the holes with these 5 tipsIf you use significant changes in condition (SCICs) to cor... Read more
Education:
PRECISE MEANING OF 'DAY' AFFECTS ANSWER
Question: For OASIS questions that ask about the patient's condition on the "day of assess... Read more
Medical Review:
DODGE NURSING VISIT DENIALS
Medicare pays for a single SN visit - but not often. Agencies find it hard to accept that ... Read more
Financial Planning:
WHAT IF A SKILLED NURSING VISIT DOESN'T QUALIFY?
Make the most of unpaid visits.Single skilled nursing visits often go unpaid under the pro... Read more
Prospevtive Payment System:
PROPOSED PAY HIKE FAVORS RURAL HHAs
New per-visit rate hits Jan.1.Get ready to revise your payment rate estimates - and not al... Read more
Assessment:
YOUR OASIS ANSWERS CAN COST AN AGENCY HUNDREDS PER EPISODE
Keeping up-to-date matters in more than fashion.If you don't keep up with the multiple sou... Read more
OASIS Diagnosis Coding:
DON'T LET HIV CODES TRIP YOU UP
Know your state law before making HIV primary.Depending on where you live, your state may ... Read more
Adverse Events:
FOCUS ON WOUND ASSESSMENT TO DECREASE ADVERSE EVENTS
Flawed OASIS questions mean normal healing can make your agency look bad.Inaccurate OASIS ... Read more
OASIS News:
EXPECT MORE TIME FOR OASIS VISITS
Seek clinicians' buy-in on this mandatory form.As if the OASIS discharge assessment wasn't... Read more
Reader Question:
5 STEPS TO CORRECTING LATE RECERTS
Question: We just found out that we have missed the date for a patient's recertification a... Read more
Assessment:
Retrain Clinicians With New OASIS Q&As
But not everyone agrees with the answers. OASIS drives both reimbursement and outcomes, bu... Read more
Therapy:
Prepare Now For Heightened Therapy Review
Beware of episodes with 10-12 therapy visits. If you can't justify every therapy visit, yo... Read more
Reimbursement:
Make Your Therapy Claims Audit-Proof
Expect more therapy downcodes - thanks to OIG audit. Medical review of claims with just ov... Read more
Compliance:
Frequency Abbreviations Frequently Fail
Learn the right way to write orders. How you word orders for your plan of care can determi... Read more
Outcomes:
Ignore Nutritional Needs And Outcomes Will Suffer
Key: Paying for a nutrition consult can be cost effective. By not assessing your patients'... Read more
Nutrition:
7 OASIS Questions Shed Light On Nutrition Status
Hint: They don't all involve food. To improve patient outcomes, use OASIS to uncover nutri... Read more
Education:
How Broadly Do You Define Emergent Care?
Question: If a patient receives a home visit from a non-agency nurse practitioner because ... Read more
Diagnosis Coding:
To Understand Sepsis Coding, Focus First On Definitions
Not every UTI is urosepsis. If you think sepsis is the same as septicemia, think again - t... Read more
OASIS News:
Muscle Weakness Coding Draws Intermediary Scrutiny
Don't fall for 728.2. If you don't know the difference between the 728.x diagnosis co... Read more
Reader Question:
Is Edema A Lesion? It Depends
Question: When we looked at OASIS Question and Answer number 79 on the link from the Cente... Read more
Training:
Don't Skimp On OASIS Training Or Your Profits Will Suffer
Here's how to convince your CFO to put more training in the budget. You cheat yourself out... Read more
Wound Care:
Complete This Test To Protect Yourself From Wound Reimbursement Woes
Check out these 8 items you must be able to answer. Are you sure you know the difference b... Read more
Assessment:
Time Is Money - But Accuracy Determines if You Keep The Cash
Chart review for OASIS errors pays hundreds of dollars. The two to three hours a clinician... Read more
Reimbursement:
Zeros On Your Assessment May Lead To Zero Reimbursement
Use C0F0S0 to screen for OASIS errors. You might wonder why a patient with no clinical, fu... Read more
Prospective Payment System:
Expect Major Changes To PPS To Take Effect In 2007
COPs are pushed back - again. Just when you've almost figured out PPS, it's about to chang... Read more
Diagnosis Coding:
Stop Losing Money With Missing M0245 Codes
Blanking out on M0245 could give you a failing grade on the claims collection test.If you ... Read more
Education:
Swelling Still Stumps Some Staff
Question: True or False? Edema counts as a wound or lesion when you are answering OASIS it... Read more
OASIS News:
Consider New Termination Notices When Scheduling Visits
Clinicians overwhelmed by OASIS paperwork will have to add another form to their stack.The... Read more
Reader Question:
Ensure Compliance By Asking Key Insurance Questions
Repetition is essential to avoid nasty surprises. Question: We missed an OASIS assessment ... Read more
Reimbursement:
WHAT YOU DON'T KNOW ABOUT SURGICAL WOUNDS CAN COST YOU THOUSANDS
Use these 5 steps to staunch the losses.A patient with a 60-day episode of daily wet-to-dr... Read more
Education:
INTEGRATE POLICY AND PROCEDURE FOR COMPLETION DATE ACCURACY
Test Your OASIS  Savvy...Question: What is the correct date to put in M0090 (Date ass... Read more
Wound Care:
STOP, LOOK AND LISTEN TO ENSURE SURGICAL WOUND STAGING ACCURACY
Staging a closed surgical wound is a hands-on process.If you can't define stages of wound ... Read more
Diagnosis Coding:
SAFEGUARD YOUR ALZHEIMER'S CLAIMS WITH THESE 3 TIPS
Stop losing money because of AD coding errorsYou can code Alzheimer's Disease in M0230 as ... Read more
Therapy:
CURE YOUR THERAPISTS' DECIPHOBIA BY DEBUNKING COMMON MYTHS
Improve outcomes with an updated approach to therapy.If your therapists turn away from dis... Read more
Audits:
PROTECT YOUR REIMBURSEMENT IN THE FACE OF RACs
CMS says medical review - providers say bounty hunting.Starting this month, new Recovery A... Read more
Risk Management:
DON'T LET CONSULTANTS LAND YOU IN HOT WATER
7 tips to protect you from bad advice.Faulty guidance can bring down the feds' wrath - and... Read more
Fraud & Abuse:
6 TIPS TO PROTECT YOU FROM ROGUE CONSULTANTS
Hint: Don't be fooled by a well-known name.Use these red flags to screen out consultants l... Read more
OASIS News:
8TH STATEMENT OF WORK FOR QIOs SUGGEST HHA TELEHEALTH OPPORTUNITIES
Expect more pressure to improve quality measures, especially the stubbornly stuck acute ca... Read more
Case Study:
These Strategies Can Slash Your Emergent Care
Unexpected benefit: Your OASIS accuracy could also improve.Do you think there isn't much y... Read more
Outcomes:
Follow This Path To Lower Emergent Care Outcomes
Old visit patterns could trip you up.Yes, you get sicker patients, but you can still head ... Read more
Assessment:
Shore Up Your Bottom Line By Dodging These M0825 Pitfalls
Warning: One of these errors could cost you $1,800 to $2,200 an episode.Simple OASIS answe... Read more
OBQI:
Jump-start Your Efforts To Decrease Rehospitalizations
One diagnosis is the strongest predictor of trouble. Can you guess which one it is?While y... Read more
Home Health Compare:
It's Time Again To See How You Stack Up Against Other HHAs
Two items provide the greatest challenge.Agencies that have continued to show improvement ... Read more
Diagnosis Coding:
Improve Your Coding Policies In 5 Steps
Don't lose money because of inconsistencies.Whether your agency's problem codes are diabet... Read more
Reimbursement:
Documentation Downcodes Delete Dollars
Follow these 5 steps to undo the damage.No matter how good your patient care or how impres... Read more
Education:
Lend Your Ear To This Much-Needed M0 Guidance
Hint: In M0 questions, every word counts.Test Your OASIS Savvy ...Question: True or False.... Read more
OASIS News:
Hurry- You May Have Just Enough Time To Order New Computers
If you don't upgrade your computer system in the next eight months, you may find yourself ... Read more
Reader Question:
Miss Wounds At Start Of Care And See Cash Fly Out The Window
Reconsider assessment assumptions to keep unobserved wounds from hurting your agency.Quest... Read more
Home Health Compare:
It's Time To Do The Quality Measure Shuffle
Risk adjustment stands in the way of some NQF-approved measures. Riddle: What started with... Read more
Test Your OASIS Savvy ...
Question #1: Does an agency need to complete a discharge assessment for a patient who is d... Read more
Outcomes:
Home Health Compare Measures Effective Fall 2005
Heads up: Beginning next fall, home health agencies will find the following outcome measur... Read more
Prospective Payment System:
5 Ways To Keep Money From Slipping Through Your Fingers
Hint: Improved communication among staff members translates to money in the bank. After al... Read more
OBQI:
Are You Drowning In Data? You May Have A Life-Preserver At Hand
Understanding these reports will help you come up for air. Many agencies are still trying ... Read more
Survey & Certification:
Fail A Survey And You Could Flunk Out Of Medicare
You don't have to be perfect - 90 percent may be close enough. Follow the Boy Scout motto ... Read more
Diagnosis Coding:
Searching For Enlightenment? Try These Online Coding Resources
Help is available to build your coding knowledge. Whether you're looking for a specific an... Read more
Assessment:
Incontinence Errors Can Cost $200 Per Episode
And your confusion will soon affect your publicly reported outcomes. Many home health agen... Read more
OASIS News:
No Quick Fix For OASIS Questions
OASIS has its problems, and resolving them isn't on the same fast track as changes to Home... Read more
Reader Question:
Can OT Be A Stand-Alone Ongoing Service?
The visit timing is critical. Question: We have a patient who was admitted with orders fo... Read more
Therapy:
Document Skilled Therapy Or Lose Reimbursement
3 ways to defend therapy need.Just because you had orders for - and documented that you ma... Read more
Education:
FEDS SHED NEW LIGHT ON M0250
Question: The patient has an in-dwelling infusion device, in which medication is added dur... Read more
Outcomes:
Reframe The Episode For Better Outcomes
Remember: Your language sets expectations for patients and clinicians.If you're focusing m... Read more
PPS:
SCICs Trigger Extra M0175 Downcodes
Hint: If you want this error fixed, you'll have to ask.As if it wasn't enough to have to s... Read more
Clip 'N Save:
Use This Flow Chart To Keep What You Earned
Filing a significant change in condition unnecessarily usually costs you money, experts sa... Read more
Assessment:
Mistakes Happen - But Don't Let Them Cost You
Follow these tips to M0550 accuracy.Every time you miss an ostomy when completing an OASIS... Read more
Reimbursement:
Prepare For More Pressure To Improve Outcomes
Ready or not, agencies face pay for performance.Heads up, home health agencies: OASIS-base... Read more
OASIS Diagnosis Coding:
Don't Miss A Hidden Case Mix Code
You can't rely only on the case mix list.If you've been worrying about coding dementia wit... Read more
OASIS News:
HHAs Keep M0175 Money - For A Bit
Millions will still go back come spring.Although the dreaded M0175 retroactive recoupments... Read more
Reader Question:
Can You Call On OT To Help With Wounds
Question: Is daily wound care provided by an occupational therapist a covered service? Ans... Read more
Home Health Compare:
Your OBQI Project May Be Aimed At The Wrong Target
Get a jump on upcoming outcome changes. If home health quality seems like a moving target,... Read more
Diagnosis Coding Update:
Contractor Clarification Pending For CVA Coding
You're not required to use aftercare codes for CVAs. Providers wishing the Centers for Med... Read more
Reimbursement:
DRGs Can Help You Prevent A $600 Mistake
Warning: Your intermediary will no longer identify M0175 underpayments. If you put M0175 a... Read more
Benchmarking:
Top 12 DRGs You Need To Know To Avoid Costly Errors
Hospital stay information can be your path to M0175 accuracy. Now that the feds have stopp... Read more
Clip 'N Save:
CUT THROUGH OASIS ASSESSMENT CONFUSION
Don't waste time and money on unnecessary assessments. For clinicians unsure about which a... Read more
Prospective Payment System:
OASIS Burden Survey Will Hit One In Seven Agencies
Just how time-consuming is OASIS? Here's your chance to tell it like it is. Your next Fede... Read more
OASIS Diagnosis Coding:
Medication Use - No Hard And Fast Rule
Refills do not equal 'long term.'Look again at how you use long term medication codes - yo... Read more
Education:
Do Profitability And Number Of Visits Work In Tandem?
Test Your OASIS Savvy ... True or False? Under the prospec-tive payment system, patients w... Read more
OASIS News:
OASIS Outcomes Are Central To Pay For Performance
Are you ready to bet your profits on your OASIS accuracy? The Medicare Payment Advisory Co... Read more
Reader Question:
What If The Patient Won't Return Calls?
Try once more - in writing. Question: We admitted a patient to home care and transferred h... Read more
Available Years:  2005  2004  2003  2002