Hospital Home Health articles from March 2003

Hospital Home Health archives from March 2003

Cultural competence and sensitivity is more than just learning a language: for good care, home health staff must respect customs, religious beliefs.
March 1, 2003... A culturally insensitive remark to the grandchild of a patient not only resulted in the home care nurse being thrown out of the home, but also resulted in a major change in the way that Catholic Health Service (CHS) of Long Island's Home Care...

Work force diversity leads to cultural sensitivity: understanding starts within your agency.
March 1, 2003... One tactic to improve your agency's cultural sensitivity is to make sure your work force reflects the diversity of your patient population, according to experts interviewed by Hospital Home Health. Workplace diversity, however, means that...

It takes how long to get paid? AR days can be cut: file clean claims to get money faster.
March 1, 2003... Just four years ago, accounts receivable days outstanding for HomeReach Homecare in Worthington, OH, reached 116 days. After investigating reasons for the delays in payment and implementing changes that solved problems, the agency now enjoys an...

Technology can reduce days outstanding: small changes can yield big results.
March 1, 2003... Cutting accounts receivables days from 116 to 43 is a monumental accomplishment. Cutting the days at the same time your gross revenue grows from $770,000 per year to $1.6 million per year without adding extra staff to the billing process may...

HIPAA Q & A.
March 1, 2003... [Editor's note: This is a periodic column that will address specific questions related to the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) implementation. If you have questions, please send them to the column editor, Sheryl...

Medicaid reimbursement crisis: how it affects you. (LegalEase: understanding laws, rules, regulations).
March 1, 2003... (Editor's note: This is the first of a two-part LegalEase column that addresses home health agency concerns related to changes in state Medicaid programs. This column presents background on the Medicaid reimbursement crisis and describes...

MedPAC: cut rural add-on, keep 15% cut.
March 1, 2003... New recommendations made by the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) Jan. 16 contradict the unanimous vote made one year ago, which proposed that Congress implement a two-year extension of the 10% rural add-on to the Medicare home...

JCAHO changes ORYX home care requirements.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... Home health agencies no longer need to submit ORYX performance-measurement data to the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations or participate with a listed performance-measurement system. Medicare-certified home heath...

More deaths from flu than previously thought.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta has released data indicating that an average of 36,000 people die from influenza-related complications each year in the United States. This represents an increase compared to...

Cost of care for the aging may be lower.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... Research in this month's edition of The Journal of Gerontology showed aging baby boomers won't run up health care costs as they reach their 80s and 90s by as much as experts forecasted. (1) The researchers found that medical costs for...

CE questions.
March 1, 2003... This concludes this CE semester. A CE evaluation form has been included with this issue. Please fill out the evaluation and return in the envelope provided. If you have any questions, call customer service at (800) 688-2421. 21. According...