Mary Madison, RN, RAC-CT, CDP Clinical Consultant – Briggs Healthcare The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has released a Guide for Clinicians on the Appropriate Dosage Reduction or Discontinuation of Long-Term Opioid Analgesics.  This 6-page Guide looks to be a great resource and I encourage you to download it and share with your…… Continue reading Clinician Guide for Appropriate Opioid Dosage Reduction or Discontinuation

Mary Madison, RN, RAC-CT, CDP Clinical Consultant – Briggs Healthcare The flu season is fast approaching and you as well as your facility/community need to be prepared! The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends annual influenza vaccination for everyone 6 months and older. Influenza is a serious health threat, especially to vulnerable populations…… Continue reading Are You Ready for the 2019 – 2020 Flu Season???

Mary Madison, RN, RAC-CT, CDP Clinical Consultant – Briggs Healthcare The Iowa Department of Human Services (DHS) and Iowa Medicaid Enterprise (IME) issued a joint informational letter dated October 9, 2019 (I received it via email just this afternoon) that speaks to using the Medicare Beneficiary Identifier (MBI) on all claims.  Even though it’s issued…… Continue reading Medicare Beneficiary Identifier (MBI)

Mary Madison, RN, RAC-CT, CDP Clinical Consultant – Briggs Healthcare CDC/STRIVE are pleased to announce the launch of four new infection control training courses. These courses are part of the new States Targeting Reduction in Infections via Engagement (STRIVE) curriculum intended for the infection prevention team, hospital leaders, clinical educators, nurse and physician managers, environmental…… Continue reading CDC/STRIVE Release Additional Free Infection Control Training Courses

Mary Madison, RN, RAC-CT, CDP Clinical Consultant – Briggs Healthcare CMS just completed an Open Door Forum that focused on the status of the new Medicare card project. The transition period is in process for just the next 16 weeks. All new Medicare cards have been mailed with over 61 million beneficiaries receiving new cards…… Continue reading New Medicare Card Project Open Door Forum

Mary Madison, RN, RAC-CT, CDP Clinical Consultant – Briggs Healthcare Back in late August, I blogged that CDC/Strive would be posting additional infection prevention and control training courses.  Here are the latest courses (more coming so stay tuned): We are pleased to announce the launch of the Building a Business Case for Infection Prevention and Patient…… Continue reading CDC/STRIVE Release Additional Free Infection Control Training Courses

Mary Madison, RN, RAC-CT, CDP Clinical Consultant – Briggs Healthcare Early this morning, CMS announced the launch of a new mailbox with great resources: “This message is to announce the launch of the new CMS Beneficiary Notices Initiative (BNI) mailbox portal for beneficiary notices and related policy questions.  Please note this mailbox portal replaces the…… Continue reading BNI Has Moved – New Resources Website

Mary Madison, RN, RAC-CT, CDP Clinical Consultant – Briggs Healthcare Environmental Cleaning and Personal Protective Equipment courses are the latest in a series of 11 new infection control training courses. These courses are part of the new States Targeting Reduction in Infections via Engagement (STRIVE) curriculum.  The training courses were developed by national infection prevention…… Continue reading CDC/STRIVE Training Introduces Additional Infection Control Courses

Mary Madison, RN, RAC-CT, CDP Clinical Consultant – Briggs Healthcare Late afternoon on Thursday, August 8, 2019, CMS released the ICD-10-CM updates for FY 2020 with this announcement: “These 2020 ICD-10-CM codes are to be used for discharges occurring from October 1, 2019 through September 30, 2020 and for patient encounters occurring from October 1,…… Continue reading ICD-10-CM Official Guidelines for Coding and Reporting – FY2020 – Released

Mary Madison, RN, RAC-CT, CDP  Clinical Consultant – Briggs Healthcare Yesterday, July 24th, I spotted an email from the PEPPER team in my inbox asking this very question. I receive frequent emails from PEPPER, depending on the time of year and the post-acute entity involved in the specific PEPPER message so yesterday’s email wasn’t a…… Continue reading Have You Accessed Your PEPPER Report?