Mary Madison, RN, RAC-CT, CDPClinical Consultant – Briggs Healthcare On January 27, 2023, I blogged about the Revisions to Hospice-Appendix M of the State Operations Manual and the Hospice Basic Surveyor Training. Late in the afternoon of February 2, 2023, CMS posted Transmittal 210 … Revisions to the State Operations Manual (SOM) Appendix M – Hospice(192…… Continue reading Revisions to Appendix M – Hospice State Operations Manual (SOM)     

Mary Madison, RN, RAC-CT, CDPClinical Consultant – Briggs Healthcare Today, January 17, 2023, CMS posted QSO-23-08-HOSPICE with the same title as this blog. This Memorandum is 196 pages in length, with the actual revised Appendix M starting on page 25.  There are 3 Attachments with Attachment III being the Transmittal – Advanced Copy: There’s a…… Continue reading Revisions to Hospice-Appendix M of the State Operations Manual and the Hospice Basic Surveyor Training

Mary Madison, RN, RAC-CT, CDPClinical Consultant – Briggs Healthcare The Hospice Quarterly Update for the fourth quarter of 2022 is now available. This update includes Hospice Quality Reporting Program highlights from October to December 2022, events and engagement opportunities for the first quarter of 2023 (January – March 2023), and selected questions and answers from…… Continue reading HQRP Quarterly Update for 4th Quarter 2022 Available

Mary Madison, RN, RAC-CT, CDPClinical Consultant – Briggs Healthcare “GAO’s review of Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) requirements for reporting and responding to abuse and neglect allegations found two gaps in the requirements for hospices, compared with requirements for extended care provided in hospitals and nursing homes. Hospices, which can provide care in…… Continue reading Abuse and Neglect: CMS Should Strengthen Reporting Requirements to Better Protect Individuals Receiving Hospice Care

Mary Madison, RN, RAC-CT, CDPClinical Consultant – Briggs Healthcare CMS posted a 90-page Transmittal 11776 – Change Request 13040 on January 5, 2023.

Mary Madison, RN, RAC-CT, CDPClinical Consultant – Briggs Healthcare Swingtech sends informational messages to hospices related to the Quality Reporting Program (QRP) on a quarterly basis. Their latest outreach communication can be found on the HQRP Requirements and Best Practices webpage. The direct link to this message is here. If you want to receive Swingtech’s…… Continue reading Important Updates on the Hospice Quality Reporting Program (HQRP)

Mary Madison, RN, RAC-CT, CDPClinical Consultant – Briggs Healthcare It’s never fun to share a negative article about healthcare providers but it’s important for the industry to be aware of what’s “out there” in the media.  Such an article was published on November 28, 2022 for the December 5, 2022 edition of The New Yorker;…… Continue reading How Hospice Became a For-Profit Hustle

Mary Madison, RN, RAC-CT, CDPClinical Consultant – Briggs Healthcare Providers can now access the latest Provider Preview Reports via the Certification and Survey Provider Enhanced Reports (CASPER) application. Once released in CASPER, providers will have 30 days during which to review their quality measure results.  Although the actual “preview period” is 30 days, the reports…… Continue reading Hospice Preview Reports for the February 2023 Refresh Now Available

Mary Madison, RN, RAC-CT, CDPClinical Consultant – Briggs Healthcare On Wednesday, September 28, 2022, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) hosted the September 2022 HQRP Forum to provide information on the Fiscal Year 2023 Hospice Final Rule, recent public reporting activity, and additional HQRP updates. Materials from this HQRP Forum, including a recording…… Continue reading Hospice Quality Reporting Program (HQRP) September Forum Materials Available

Mary Madison, RN, RAC-CT, CDPClinical Consultant – Briggs Healthcare The Hospice Quarterly Update for the third quarter of 2022 is now available. This update includes Hospice Quality Reporting Program highlights from July to September 2022, events and engagement opportunities for the fourth quarter of 2022 (October-December 2022), and selected questions and answers from the Hospice…… Continue reading HQRP Quarterly Update for 3rd Quarter of 2022 Available