Mary Madison, RN, RAC-CT, CDP Clinical Consultant – Briggs Healthcare It’s that time of year (no, not Christmas/the holidays just yet) – flu season.  [1] As you can see from the above CDC map, the states of Nevada and Ohio are already reporting moderate flu activity.  We can expect this map to get more colorful as…… Continue reading Flu Season is Here – Get Your Flu Shot Now and Your COVID-19 Vaccination!

Mary Madison, RN, RAC-CT, CDPClinical Consultant – Briggs Healthcare Every September, on the first day of fall, the National Council on Aging promotes National Falls Prevention Awareness Week. Fall prevention is a team effort. Healthcare providers, including primary care specialists, pharmacists, and physical therapists can work together to reduce fall risk in their older adult…… Continue reading Training and Resources for Falls Prevention Awareness Week: September 20-24, 2021

Mary Madison, RN, RAC-CT, CDP Clinical Consultant – Briggs Healthcare The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is granting exceptions under certain Medicare quality reporting and value-based purchasing programs located in areas affected by Hurricane Ida to assist you while you direct your resources toward caring for patients and repairing structural damages to facilities. For…… Continue reading Reporting Exceptions Granted Due to Hurricane Ida

Mary Madison, RN, RAC-CT, CDP Clinical Consultant – Briggs Healthcare On Friday, September 17, 2021, the Biden-Harris Administration and CDC announced “a $2.1 billion investment to improve infection prevention and control activities across the U.S. public health and healthcare sectors. The Biden-Harris Administration, working through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), is investing American…… Continue reading CDC to Invest $2.1 Billion to Protect Patients and Healthcare Workers

Mary Madison, RN, RAC-CT, CDPClinical Consultant – Briggs Healthcare CMS National Stakeholder Call on Friday, September 17 at 12:30pm ET (Corrected Link) You are invited to join the Administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ (CMS), Chiquita Brooks-LaSure, and her leadership team, to hear key updates from her first 100 days in office.…… Continue reading Corrected Link for CMS National Stakeholder Call – Friday, September 17, 2021

Mary Madison, RN, RAC-CT, CDPClinical Consultant – Briggs Healthcare The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is publishing the Inpatient Rehabilitation Facility Patient Assessment Instrument (IRF-PAI) Quarterly Q&As, September 2021, Consolidated June 2020 to September 2021 document so that all IRF providers have the benefit of the clarifications to existing guidance. Through inquiries to…… Continue reading Inpatient Rehabilitation Facility Patient Assessment Instrument (IRF-PAI) Quarterly Q&A, September 2021, Consolidated June 2020 to September 2021

Mary Madison, RN, RAC-CT, CDPClinical Consultant – Briggs Healthcare You are invited to join the Administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ (CMS), Chiquita Brooks-LaSure, and her leadership team, to hear key updates from her first 100 days in office. The Administrator’s vision is for CMS to serve the public as a trusted…… Continue reading National Stakeholder Call with the CMS Administrator

Mary Madison, RN, RAC-CT, CDPClinical Consultant – Briggs Healthcare “The National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) has published an update to the International Classification of Diseases, 10th Revision, Clinical Modification (ICD-10-CM) diagnosis codes, which will become effective October 1, 2021. The FY 2022 (October 1, 2021, Update) Conversion Table includes the new ICD-10-CM codes and…… Continue reading ICD-10-CM Conversion Table FY2022 Effective 10-1-2021

Mary Madison, RN, RAC-CT, CDP Clinical Consultant – Briggs Healthcare On Friday, September 3, 2021, this OSHA final interpretive rule was posted in the Federal Register.  This rule is also effective as of September 3, 2021 as a result.  The posting in the FR is 5 pages in length. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is amending…… Continue reading Discrimination Against Employees Exercising Rights Under the Williams Steiger Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970

Mary Madison, RN, RAC-CT, CDPClinical Consultant – Briggs Healthcare The American Nurses Association (ANA) issued this Press Release on September 1, 2021: SILVER SPRING, MD – The American Nurses Association (ANA), representing the interests of the nation’s 4.2 million nurses, urges the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to declare the current and unsustainable…… Continue reading American Nurses Association Urges HHS to Declare Nurse Staffing Shortage a National Crisis