Hospital Home Health articles from January 2007

Hospital Home Health archives from January 2007

Complexity of coding requires special coding staff or in-house expert.
January 1, 2007... Complexity of coding requires special coding staff or in-house expert Education for expert and entire staff essential for accuracy With an average of 300 new codes and the development of guidelines that change the way old codes are...

Coding expert must be a master at solving puzzles.(Brief article)
January 1, 2007... Coding expert must be a master at solving puzzles Designating a staff member as the "coding expert" for your agency is one way to ensure accurate reimbursement; but the person does not have to be a certified coder to help your agency...

Don't forget hospitalists in your marketing plan.
January 1, 2007... Don't forget hospitalists in your marketing plan Make good impression with research (Editor's note: This is the first of a two-part series that looks at marketing in home health. This month we look at the importance of marketing to...

Attorney: 'Rotation' referrals may compromise care.
January 1, 2007... Attorney: 'Rotation' referrals may compromise care DPs also cautioned about legal risks Patients' right to freedom of choice of providers has been a source of continuing conflict, especially between hospitals and post-acute providers...

MDRO guidelines draw fire on active surveillance issue.(multidrug-resistant organisms )
January 1, 2007... MDRO guidelines draw fire on active surveillance issue Others praise stepwise approach The prevention of multidrug-resistant organisms (MDROs) is a "national priority … that requires all health care facilities and agencies...

Very few hospitals using EHR, says a new study.(electronic health records)(Brief article)
January 1, 2007... Very few hospitals using EHR, says a new study As of 2005, only between 5% to 10% of hospitals are currently using electronic health records (EHRs), according to a new study.1 The researchers urge greater attention to EHR adoption by safety...

IOM report: Medicare should switch to P4P.(pay for performance)(Institute of Medicine)
January 1, 2007... IOM report: Medicare should switch to P4P A recent Institute of Medicine (IOM) report recommends that Medicare gradually replace its current fee-for-service payment system with a new pay-for-performance system for its 42 million...

CMS expands preventive service coverage.(Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services)
January 1, 2007... CMS expands preventive service coverage The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has expanded coverage for preventive services such as diabetes screening. Beginning Jan. 1, 2007, CMS is increasing payments for services that affect...

CNE Objectives/Questions.
January 1, 2007... CNE Objectives After reading each issue of Hospital Home Health, the reader will be able to do the following: 1. Identify particular clinical, ethical, legal, or social issues pertinent to home health care. 2. Describe how those...