Mary Madison, RN, RAC-CT, CDP Clinical Consultant – Briggs Healthcare CMS posted Change Request 12723 – Transmittal 11399 on May 4, 2022.  Pages 2 and 3 of the 7-page Transmittal speak to the background and the policy.  The manual changes are found (in red font) on the last 3 pages: Effective July 1, 2021, the Centers…… Continue reading Revisions to Medicare Part B Coverage of Pneumococcal Vaccinations for the Medicare Benefit Policy Manual Chapter 15 

Mary Madison, RN, RAC-CT, CDPClinical Consultant – Briggs Healthcare As the title of this blog says, May is indeed a great month for nursing (every month is but I may be biased).  May is when we observe National Nurses Day, National Nurses Week, National Skilled Nursing Week, International Nurses Day to name a few. 2020…… Continue reading May is a Great Month for Nurses and Everything Nursing

Mary Madison, RN, RAC-CT, CDPClinical Consultant – Briggs Healthcare The National Academy of Medicine (NAM) Action Collaborative on Clinician Well-Being and Resilience is working urgently to develop a National Plan for health workforce well-being. The draft plan will be released in May 2022 for public input and builds on almost six years of collective work…… Continue reading NAM to Deliver National Plan to Strengthen Health Workforce Well-Being and Restore the Health of the Nation 

Mary Madison, RN, RAC-CT, CDP Clinical Consultant – Briggs Healthcare The CDC reports that after decades of decline, progress has slowed in preventing stroke deaths. Every 40 seconds someone has a stroke in the US. Almost 800,000 people have a stroke each year, more than 140,000 die and many survivors face disability. This is disturbing because…… Continue reading May is National Stroke Awareness Month

Mary Madison, RN, RAC-CT, CDPClinical Consultant – Briggs Healthcare Every year, on April 28, the nation recognizes Workers Memorial Day. This is the day we pay our respects to those who lost their lives on the job and recognize the impact these tragic losses have on families, co-workers, and communities. This year, we also recognize that,…… Continue reading Workers Memorial Day – April 28, 2022   

Mary Madison, RN, RAC-CT, CDPClinical Consultant – Briggs Healthcare The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) discovered an error in the patient counts for each LTCH CARE Data Set (LCDS) measure in the March 2022 provider preview reports originally released on April 13, 2022, related to the June 2022 refresh of LTCH quality data…… Continue reading Attention LTCH Providers – Errors in CARE Data Sets

Mary Madison, RN, RAC-CT, CDP Clinical Consultant – Briggs Healthcare EVENT REGISTRATION OPEN for the Inpatient Rehabilitation Facility (IRF) and Long-Term Care Hospital (LTCH) Updated Guidance Virtual Training Program. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) will be providing a virtual training program that will review the updated guidance for the Inpatient Rehabilitation Facility –…… Continue reading IRF/LTCH Updated Guidance Virtual Training Event

Mary Madison, RN, RAC-CT, CDPClinical Consultant – Briggs Healthcare The next CMS Hospital/Quality Initiative Open Door Forum scheduled for:  Date:  Tuesday, April 26, 2022 Start Time:  2:00pm-3:00pm Eastern Time (ET) Please dial-in at least 15 minutes before call start time. **DATE IS SUBJECT TO CHANGE** Next CMS Hospital/Quality Initiative Open Door Forum: TBD ODF EMAIL…… Continue reading CMS Hospital/Quality Initiative Open Door Forum – Tuesday, April 26, 2022

Mary Madison, RN, RAC-CT, CDP Clinical Consultant – Briggs Healthcare On April 19, 2022, I posted a blog to inform our readers of this latest proposed rule – FY 2023 Hospital Inpatient Prospective Payment System (IPPS) and Long Term Care Hospitals (LTCH PPS) Proposed Rule – CMS-1771-P. CMS has posted a corresponding Fact Sheet to help…… Continue reading Fact Sheet: FY 2023 Hospital IPPS and LTCH PPS Proposed Rule – CMS-1771-P  

Mary Madison, RN, RAC-CT, CDPClinical Consultant – Briggs Healthcare On April 21, 2022, CMS posted Change Request 12700 – Transmittal 11358 which is effective May 23, 2022. The purpose of this Change Request (CR) is to update various sections within Chapter 4 in Pub. 100-08. The primary updates in this CR include updating the Medicare…… Continue reading Updates to Chapter 4 in Publication (Pub.) 100-08 – Medicare Program Integrity Manual