Hospital Home Health articles from February 2002

Hospital Home Health archives from February 2002

Verifying physician licenses: Strategies for staying up to date: tips for making sure doctors are legit.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... It might seem to be common sense to assume that physicians keep their licenses up to date. Unfortunately, that s not always the case. Much like everything else in the world, from getting one's car inspected to filing paperwork on time, some...

CDC releases Interim Smallpox Response Plan: local HCWs are the first line of defense.(Cneter for Disease Control and Prevention)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta has released its "Interim Smallpox Response Plan and Guidelines," a working draft that outlines the CDC's strategies for responding to a smallpox emergency. The plan, which...

Everything you need to know about smallpox.
February 1, 2002... The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta has released its smallpox guidelines with information and suggestions for health care providers. Here are some frequently asked questions regarding the disease. For more...

CE questions.
February 1, 2002... 17. As part of the government's plan to prevent a mass outbreak of smallpox, it will implement a mass vaccination program. A. true B. false 18. In the majority of cases, smallpox is spread: A. through the air ...

Where does home care end and day care start? Ambiguity raises billing questions.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... Last year, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) made a change in the homebound status for patients who spend their days in licensed adult day-care facilities. However, some home care professionals are still questioning whether...

Prioritizing care: set up a winter weather checklist.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... When winter weather comes, not everyone has access to snowmobiles or a four-wheel drive. For more than a few home care agencies, this becomes a critical situation in inclement weather because staff may end up risking their lives trying to...

Survival strategies: pack light and pack right.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... For many across the country, winter got off to a slow start with near-springlike temperatures running well into November and, in some areas, into December. While it made getting into the holiday spirit a bit more difficult, it also had the...

Home care agencies: coping with terrorism. (LegalEase: understanding laws, rules, regulations).(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... The events of the last several months have precipitated numerous discussions about how home health agencies should respond in the event of an act of terrorism. Given the state of our nation, such discussions certainly are appropriate, even...

New dates for PS&R and provider cost reports: HHS implements program changes. (LegalEase: understanding laws, rules, regulations).(Department of Health and Human Services)(Provider Statistical and Reimbursement reports)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... The Department of Health and Human Services as announced amended production dates for the Provider Statistical and Reimbursement (PS&R) reports. (See PS&R schedule, below.) On Dec. 31, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services sent fiscal...

Exercise shown to benefit elderly women's health.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... Not that this comes as any surprise, but a recent study published in the November issue of Women's Health Issues found that the more physically active a woman over 60 is, the better her overall quality of life. Although these findings were...

DC health care alliance reports $15M surplus.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... Despite dire predictions of financial shortages made by Washington, DC-city officials in the wake of the closing of D.C. General Hospital and the privatization of the city's indigent health care system, the city now finds that it has a $15...

GAO reports that HMOs still leaving Medicare.(General Accounting Office)(Health Maintenance Organizations)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... Investigators from the General Accounting Office (GAO) are reporting that despite two years of increased payments to HMOs, they continue to leave the Medicare program and few are returning. Medicare payments for the average HMO increased...

Tenet offers to extend services as part of buyout.(Tenet Healthcare Corp.)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... To ease Los Angeles-area residents' concerns about an impending buyout of two area hospitals that would convert them from not-for-profit to for-profit, Tenet Healthcare Corp. in Santa Barbara, CA, has announced that it will bolster services and...

CMS changes could cause big trouble for hospitals.(Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... If the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) goes ahead with planned changes to its hospital outpatient payment before it is ready to pay claims, many hospitals are saying substantial problems will result. Of primary concern, say...

Smallpox case investigation: form 4: source of exposure.
February 1, 2002... We... need to ask you about the time period from one to three weeks before your rash. This will help us learn where you may have caught this infection. We will ask you about sick people you or -- (insert name of family member/other) may have...