OASIS Alert
HAVE YOU CHECKED OUT HOME HEALTH COMPARE LATELY?
Rest on your laurels and you'll lose ground. Home Health Compare -- now nearing the end of its first year -- is a moving target for home health agencies. The May 27 update continues the pattern the March 4 update began. Once again, the national average improved in eight measures and remained the same in three (see chart). This upward creep means unless agencies also improve in most categories, they may soon appear worse than the national average. Missouri agencies have improved on average between 1 and 3 percent on outcomes since the first preview of data, reports Mary Schantz, executive director of the Missouri Alliance for Home Care. New York outcomes "are in the mean or median" when compared with other states "with similar practice patterns," Rodat calculates. But "we believe our scores are brought down by the thousands of chronically ill patients -- eligible for nursing homes -- who are cared for under the state's home and community-based waiver program," she speculates.
New York agencies, on the other hand, met or exceeded the national average on nine of the 11 outcomes in the initial data, eight of the 11 in March and only seven of the 11 in June, notes Carol Rodat, president of the Home Care Association of New York.HCANYques-tions the validity of the comparisons.
Compare the latest updates in the chart below. The next update will occur Sept. 2, according to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. 
OASIS Alert
- Compliance:
AGENCIES LOSE THOUSANDS IN DIAGNOSIS CODING DENIALS
Here's how to clear up coding confusion among clinicians. If you don't select the correct [...] - Test Your OASIS Savvy ...
True or False? Now that the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act privacy regulations are [...] - Diagnosis Coding:
11 TIPS FOR AVOIDING HIPPS DOWNCODING
Strategies for accurate coding -- the first time. Don't throw up your hands in coding [...] - Case Study:
DON'T UNDERESTIMATE THE POWER OF PATIENT EDUCATION TO BOOST YOUR OUTCOMES
Here's how one agency decreased hospital readmission rates. Hospital readmissions can hurt your HHA. One [...] - OBQI :
HAVE YOU CHECKED OUT HOME HEALTH COMPARE LATELY?
Rest on your laurels and you'll lose ground. Home Health Compare -- now nearing the [...] - Benchmarking:
AVERAGE IS GOOD WHEN IT COMES TO UTILIZATION DATA
Be ready to justify deviations. Even though the government's utilization data is five months old [...] - Reimbursement:
AVOID LOSING UP TO $600 ON EACH M0175 TAKEBACK
Confirm downcode appropriateness with 'APP DATE' field. You say you're not sure you can trust [...] - Utilization:
VISIT DATA FOR LAST SIX MONTHS OF 2003 PROVIDES BENCHMARKING OPPORTUNITY
Be prepared to explain why, if your utilization data differ significantly from other agencies in [...] - OASIS News:
THERAPY EXPANSION WILL COST AGENCIES
Yes, electromagnetic wound therapy can count as a therapy visit -- but there's a catch. [...] - Reader Question:
CAN HOSPITALS RESTRICT YOUR ACCESS TO YOUR PATIENT'S CHART?
Q: During a home health episode, our patients sometimes are admitted to the hospital, but [...]
