Mary Madison, RN, RAC-CT, CDP Clinical Consultant – Briggs Healthcare CMS has a website dedicated to podcasts and transcripts.  “This page holds all Partner Relations Group Podcasts, transcripts and audio recordings. CMS makes Open Door Forums and other presentations available as an audio podcast. The Podcasts are available, free of charge.” A National Stakeholder Call…… Continue reading COVID-19 Stakeholder Calls

Mary Madison, RN, RAC-CT, CDP Clinical Consultant – Briggs Healthcare On March 31, 2020, The Joint Commission issued this statement “supporting the use of standard face masks and/or respirators provided from home when health care organizations cannot provide access to protective equipment that is commensurate with the risk health care workers are exposed to amid…… Continue reading The Joint Commission Statement on Personal Face Masks Provided from Home

Mary Madison, RN, RAC-CT, CDP Clinical Consultant – Briggs Healthcare The Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) Burn Rate Calculator is an Excel spreadsheet-based model that provides information for healthcare facilities to plan and optimize the use of PPE for response to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Similarly, non-healthcare facilities (e.g., correctional facilities) may find this tool useful…… Continue reading Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) Burn Rate Calculator

Mary Madison, RN, RAC-CT, CDP Clinical Consultant – Briggs Healthcare Late in the day on Monday, March 30, 2020, CMS posted Medicare & Medicaid Programs; Policy and Regulatory Revisions in Response to the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency Interim Final Rule with Comment Period.  As per their usual policy/mandate, there is a 60-day comment period.  The…… Continue reading CMS Posts COVID-19 Public Health Emergency Interim Final Rule & Additional Waivers

Mary Madison, RN, RAC-CT, CDP Clinical Consultant – Briggs Healthcare CMS has a designated website for COVID-19 waivers – both Federal and state-specific. 1135 blanket waiver information is found on this page as is 1135 state-specific information.  This webpage appears to be updated daily. Please bookmark it and check as needed to see if your…… Continue reading Coronavirus Waiver Information – Federal and State

Mary Madison, RN, RAC-CT, CDP Clinical Consultant – Briggs Healthcare We’ve all been inundated with directives, guidances, etc. regarding COVID-19 pandemic.  I’d like to introduce you to this resource: TMF Health Quality Institute.  TMF has some great resources to help healthcare providers deal with COVID-19. Check these out: Each of the above has a drop-down…… Continue reading Coronavirus (COVID-19) Updates and Resources from TMF

Mary Madison, RN, RAC-CT, CDP Clinical Consultant – Briggs Healthcare On March 30, 2020, CMS issued the following guidances: QSO-20-15…Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA) Requirements and Implications Related to COVID-19 (Revised) … Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs), Hospitals, EMTALA QSO-20-15…Guidance for Infection Control and Prevention of COVID-19 in Hospitals, Psychiatric Hospitals, and Critical Access…… Continue reading CMS Issues Additional Guidance for COVID-19 for Multiple Providers

Mary Madison, RN, RAC-CT, CDP Clinical Consultant – Briggs Healthcare “CMS today (March 30, 2020) is issuing an unprecedented array of temporary regulatory waivers and new rules to equip the American healthcare system with maximum flexibility to respond to the 2019 Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.  These temporary changes will apply immediately across the entire U.S.…… Continue reading Sweeping Regulatory Changes to Help U.S. Healthcare System Address COVID-19 Patient Surge

Mary Madison, RN, RAC-CT, CDP        Clinical Consultant – Briggs Healthcare CMS-R-131 is issued by providers (including independent laboratories, home health agencies, and hospices), physicians, practitioners, and suppliers to Original Medicare (fee for service – FFS) beneficiaries in situations where Medicare payment is expected to be denied. The ABN is issued in order to transfer potential…… Continue reading Advance Beneficiary Notice of Noncoverage (ABN), Form CMS-R-131 “Update”

Mary Madison, RN, RAC-CT, CDP Clinical Consultant – Briggs Healthcare The new code for COVID-19, U07.1, is one of two new codes to be added to the code set effective April 1, 2020. New codes are usually effective on October 1, except in the case of emergency, so we will have two codes in the…… Continue reading New ICD-10 Code for COVID-19 and Vaping Effective April 1, 2020