Dementia Care: Supporting Comfort and Resident Preferences Call

Mary Madison, RN, RAC-CT, CDP Clinical Consultant – Briggs Healthcare CMS, through MLN, is conducting a 90-minute national call on September 10, 2019 for nursing home providers, surveyors, prescribers, professional associations and other interested stakeholders with “insight on approaches to care for residents living with dementia that focus on resident preferences, maintaining comfort, and assisting…… Continue reading Dementia Care: Supporting Comfort and Resident Preferences Call

BREAKING NEWS: CMS Proposed and Final Rules Announced for LTC

Mary Madison, RN, RAC-CT, CDP Clinical Consultant – Briggs Healthcare Yesterday, July 16, 2019, CMS provided notification of 2 rules that will impact LTC facilities: one final and one proposed.  Let’s look at the proposed rule first – CMS-3347-P: Medicare and Medicaid Programs; Requirements for Long-Term Care Facilities: Regulatory Provisions to Promote Efficiency, and Transparency.…… Continue reading BREAKING NEWS: CMS Proposed and Final Rules Announced for LTC

NAHC remains very concerned over significant “behavioral adjustment” in the proposed home health rule issued on July 11, 2019. See statement below from NAHC’s President William A. Dombi.

Sharon Hamilton MS, RN, CFDS Clinical Consultant, Briggs Healthcare “Statement of NAHC President William A. Dombi Regarding the Medicare Home Health Proposed Rule Issued Today”                                                             July 11, 2019 CMS late today issued the proposed rule for the 2020 payment model, PDGM, including rates of payment that would start January 1, 2020. The new payment…… Continue reading NAHC remains very concerned over significant “behavioral adjustment” in the proposed home health rule issued on July 11, 2019. See statement below from NAHC’s President William A. Dombi.

“Trump Administration Announces Steps to Strengthen Medicare with New Home Infusion Therapy Benefit and New Regulations that Put Patients Over Paperwork” What might this mean for home health agencies in the future?

Sharon Hamilton MS, RN, CFDS Clinical Consultant, Briggs Healthcare Today, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) proposed significant changes to the Home Health Prospective Payment System (Home Health PPS) that keep the unique needs of patients first, with proposals to implement a new home infusion benefit for beneficiaries, increasing home-based care. This proposed…… Continue reading “Trump Administration Announces Steps to Strengthen Medicare with New Home Infusion Therapy Benefit and New Regulations that Put Patients Over Paperwork” What might this mean for home health agencies in the future?

“HHS To Transform Care Delivery for Patients with Chronic Kidney Disease” What might this mean for home care in the future?

Sharon Hamilton MS, RN, CFDS Clinical Consultant, Briggs Healthcare This article, published below by CMS refers to home dialysis six times and payment adjustments aim at transforming kidney care so that patients with chronic kidney disease have access to high quality, coordinated care. This is an initiative worth watching. Today, delivering on President Trump’s Advancing…… Continue reading “HHS To Transform Care Delivery for Patients with Chronic Kidney Disease” What might this mean for home care in the future?

Be proactive, don’t let your agency miss the chance to participate in the survey!

Sharon Hamilton MS, RN, CFDS Clinical Consultant, Briggs Healthcare We all know how difficult it can be to communicate with physicians for numerous reasons. Under PDGM effective communication will be more important than ever. The National Association for Home Care & Hospice is partnering with John Hopkins University conducting a survey addressing Agencies’ Communications with…… Continue reading Be proactive, don’t let your agency miss the chance to participate in the survey!

Two (2) OIG Studies Released: Hospice Care Provided to Medicare Beneficiaries

Mary Madison, RN, RAC-CT, CDP Clinical Consultant – Briggs Healthcare Last week, the Office of Inspector General (OIG) released 2 reports that describe “specific instances of harm to hospice beneficiaries and identifies vulnerabilities in CMS’s efforts to prevent and address harm” and “hospices did not always provide needed services to beneficiaries and sometimes provided poor…… Continue reading Two (2) OIG Studies Released: Hospice Care Provided to Medicare Beneficiaries

SNF QRP Train the Trainer Sessions – August 13 & 14, 2019 (In-Person & Webcast)

Mary Madison, RN, RAC-CT, CDP Clinical Consultant – Briggs Healthcare The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) will be hosting a 2-day Skilled Nursing Facility (SNF) Quality Reporting Program (QRP) in-person ‘Train the Trainer’ event for providers on August 13 and 14, 2019, at the Four Seasons Hotel, 200 International Drive, Baltimore, MD 21202.…… Continue reading SNF QRP Train the Trainer Sessions – August 13 & 14, 2019 (In-Person & Webcast)

Do you know that your organization should request access to iQIES as soon as the onboarding for your state begins?

Sharon Hamilton MS, RN, CFDS Clinical Consultant, Briggs Healthcare In March 2019, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) began delivering a series of enhancements to the Quality Improvement and Evaluation System (QIES). The upgraded system, called the Internet Quality Improvement and Evaluation System (iQIES), is an Internet facing, cloud-based system that is more…… Continue reading Do you know that your organization should request access to iQIES as soon as the onboarding for your state begins?

July 2019 QIES Downtime Schedule and Five-Star/SNF Provider Preview Reports

Mary Madison, RN, RAC-CT, CDP Clinical Consultant – Briggs Healthcare The QIES Technical Support Office has posted the July 2019 Downtime Schedule. Possible QIES scheduled downtime begins Tuesday, July 2, at 8:00 PM (ET) and ends at 11:00 PM (ET) Possible QIES scheduled downtime begins Tuesday, July 16, at 8:00 PM (ET) and ends at…… Continue reading July 2019 QIES Downtime Schedule and Five-Star/SNF Provider Preview Reports