Hospice Management Advisor articles from April 2004

Hospice Management Advisor archives from April 2004

Demand for hospice climbs, but lengths of stay still low: figures point to need for better marketing and education.
April 1, 2004... Last February, a respected medical journal published a study that suggested non-cancer patients would be better served if they were admitted to hospice sooner. Days later, the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization (NHPCO) in...

Target your marketing toward Baby Boomers: try to convince the decision-makers.
April 1, 2004... Educating physicians about the cost-effective, high-quality care provided by hospice is only half of the hospice marketing equation. Patients are the other hall and in many ways they're a tougher nut to crack. While most hospice patients...

Donors invest in you; treat them like investors: show how your program pays dividends.(Hospice Trends)
April 1, 2004... It may not have been all that long since you launched your 2004 annual campaign. As always, your loyal contributors came through, and you were pleased with the contributions of some new donors. Going forward, the same folks will eventually get...

Shrpn yr pncls; abbrev. disapp.'ng: sharpen your pencils; abbreviations are disappearing.(Hospice Trends)
April 1, 2004... Old habits are hard to break. But the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations in Oakbrook Terrace, IL, is asking home health nurses to break some habits they've had since nursing school. National Patient Safety Goal...

Gifts for referrals? Know the law.(Guest Column)
April 1, 2004... Discharge planners and case managers certainly cannot accept cash payments from providers in exchange for referrals of patients. But what about non-cash items that have a relatively low value and that providers are not obligated to provide to...

Overcoming education hurdles takes innovation: don't rely solely on books or videotapes.(Guest Column)
April 1, 2004... Employees spread over a large geographic area, people who don't like sitting in one place for any length of time, patient visits that don't always follow a "normal" schedule, and a lengthy list of educational classes that staff members must...

NHPCO to offer manager program.(National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization)
April 1, 2004... The National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization (NHPCO) in Alexandria, VA, has launched a new training program designed for hospice professionals. The Hospice Manager Development Program (Hospice MDP) will not only expand current...

Hospital to pay $9.5m for Medicare billing issues.(News From the End of Life)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... A hospital in Greenville, SC, will pay nearly $9.5 million to resolve Medicare billing improprieties from 1997 through 1999 in its home health, hospice, and durable medical equipment programs, the Office of Inspector General (OIG) announced...

Two-page advance beneficiary notice gone.(Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... Throw away the two-page advance beneficiary notice that you've had the option of using since 2002. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has said the only advance beneficiary notice it will accept is the single-page notice...

CMS describes HIPAA authorization form.(News From the End of Life)
April 1, 2004... The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is offering a preview of a privacy authorization form that includes the core elements and necessary statements required in the privacy rule of the Health Insurance Portability and...

Prescriptions blamed for dependencies.(News From the End of Life)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2004... The Waismann Institute in Beverly Hills, CA, has released findings of its 2004 Opiate Dependency Report, which shows that 56% of patients' opiate dependencies began with medication prescribed by their doctors, NewsRX.com reported in March. ...