Mary Madison, RN, RAC-CT, CDPClinical Consultant – Briggs Healthcare In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) temporarily waived certain Medicare restrictions on telehealth—the delivery of some services via audio-only or video technology. Use of telehealth services increased from about 5 million services pre-waiver (April to December 2019) to…… Continue reading GAO Report: Medicare Telehealth – Actions Needed to Strengthen Oversight and Help Providers Educate Patients on Privacy and Security Risks

Mary Madison, RN, RAC-CT, CDPClinical Consultant – Briggs Healthcare An update to the Inpatient Rehabilitation Facility (IRF) Quality Reporting Program (QRP) Annual Increase Factor (AIF) Table for Reporting Assessment-Based quality measures (QMs) and standardized patient assessment data elements to CMS is now available. This document has been updated to reflect the data elements that will…… Continue reading IRF QRP AIF Table for Reporting Assessment-Based QM and Standardized Patient Assessment Data Elements and Data Collection and Final Submission Deadlines Affecting FY 2025

Mary Madison, RN, RAC-CT, CDPClinical Consultant – Briggs Healthcare (Wednesday, September 21, 2022) the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, through its Administration for Community Living, released the 2022 National Strategy to Support Family Caregivers. It highlights nearly 350 actions the federal government will take to support family caregivers in the coming year and more than 150 actions that can be…… Continue reading HHS Delivers First National Strategy to Support Family Caregivers

Mary Madison, RN, RAC-CT, CDPClinical Consultant – Briggs Healthcare Effective October 4, 2022, a report retention time period will be applied to user-requested or auto-generated Inpatient Rehabilitation Facility (IRF) reports in the internet Quality Improvement and Evaluation System (iQIES). When the report retention changes are implemented, reports that are older than the pre-defined number of…… Continue reading Report Retention Change for IRF Reports in iQIES

Mary Madison, RN, RAC-CT, CDPClinical Consultant – Briggs Healthcare Effective October 4, 2022, a report retention time period will be applied to user-requested or auto-generated Long-Term Care Hospital (LTCH) reports in the internet Quality Improvement and Evaluation System (iQIES). When the report retention changes are implemented, reports that are older than the pre-defined number of…… Continue reading Report Retention Change for LTCH Reports in iQIES

Mary Madison, RN, RAC-CT, CDPClinical Consultant – Briggs Healthcare The Long-Term Care Hospital (LTCH) Provider Preview Reports have been updated and are now available. These reports contain provider performance scores for quality measures, which will be published on Care Compare and Provider Data Catalog (PDC) during the December 2022 Refresh. The data contained within the Preview Reports are…… Continue reading LTCH Provider Preview Reports – Now Available

Mary Madison, RN, RAC-CT, CDPClinical Consultant – Briggs Healthcare The Inpatient Rehabilitation Facility (IRF) Provider Preview Reports have been updated and are now available. These reports contain provider performance scores for quality measures, which will be published on Care Compare and Provider Data Catalog (PDC) during the December 2022 refresh. The data contained within the Preview Reports…… Continue reading IRF Provider Preview Reports Now Available

Mary Madison, RN, RAC-CT, CDP Clinical Consultant – Briggs Healthcare       The Long-Term Care Hospital (LTCH) Quality Reporting Program (QRP) Quality Measure Calculations and Reporting User’s Manual Version 4.0, Change Table, and Risk Adjustment Appendix File are now available. These documents serve as an update to the specifications used to calculate quality measures that are included in…… Continue reading SNF, IRF and LTCH QRP Quality Measure Calculations and Reporting User’s Manuals V4.0 and Accompanying Documents Now Available

Mary Madison, RN, RAC-CT, CDP Clinical Consultant – Briggs Healthcare The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) will be undergoing an email transition over the Labor Day weekend (late Friday, September 2, to early Tuesday, September 6). CMS employees will not be able to access or receive email during the transition. If you send…… Continue reading Upcoming CMS Email Transition Over Labor Day Weekend

Mary Madison, RN, RAC-CT, CDP Clinical Consultant – Briggs Healthcare CDC issued this HAN Health Advisory the afternoon of Tuesday, August 30, 2022. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is issuing this Health Alert Network (HAN) Health Advisory to provide updates on recent variant influenza virus infections and summarize CDC’s recommendations for identification, treatment, and…… Continue reading Variant Influenza Virus Infections: Recommendations for Identification, Treatment, and Prevention for Summer and Fall 2022 (HAN Health Advisory Issued)