A team of five Boston-area researchers* has found stark geographical and ethnicity-based differences in the practice of delaying care due to cost. In an article in the April 9 New England Journal of Medicine, they expressed hope that provisions of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) that expand Medicaid eligibility will reduce […]
by Liz Seegert Having spent most of his career in and around the Washington, DC bureaucracy, Jonathan Linkous, CEO of the American Telemedicine Association (ATA), has cut through his share of red tape and senseless regulations. This month’s reshuffling of federal Standard Metropolitan Statistical Areas, however, which disqualified 97 counties from Medicare telemedicine reimbursement, […]
Depression can be a significant indicator of a home healthcare patient’s risk for premature rehospitalization. Until now, however, recognizing depression and developing treatment plans have not been within the skill set of the typical home care nurse. A series of four studies funded by the National Institutes of Health and conducted by Cornell University […]
Procura announced last week that they have entered into a strategic partnership with Tyze Personal Networks, providers of an online community care platform. The arrangement will provide Procura customers with a health information exchange (HIE) tool that centers on the patient, connecting associated family, friends, care givers and care professionals, and organizes support for […]
Schaumburg, IL, April 11, 2012 — Founded by humanitarian Eleanor Green in 1900 to deliver health services to the poor, VNA of Rhode Island now serves people of all ages and incomes but adheres to its original mission, “To provide care of the sick at home, foster the promotion of good health and prevent illness […]
by Julie Konieczka Improving patient outcomes is a critical challenge throughout healthcare. Once payments begin to be calculated on outcomes rather than services, it will become the critical challenge. A common approach to secured electronic healthcare records will be even more critical to the success of healthcare systems. In home healthcare, outcome improvement […]
What does it mean when more than three-quarters of payment denials handed down by Medicare contractors are voided by Administrative Law Judges when appealed? Our conclusion, based on interviews over the years with home health care consultants who specialize in walking agencies through the appeal process, is that auditors at the RHHI, MAC, ZPIC […]
Beyond what is captured through EHR, Cornerstone Hospice & Palliative Care, Inc. had additional paper records dispersed across its organization. What they needed was a tool that could seamlessly bring all of this disparate information together and put it all under one electronic roof. They turned to Allscripts Homecare’s AllDocs. This article describes in […]
On March 29, 2013, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a final rule with request for comment to implement provisions of the Affordable Care Act on increased Federal Medical Assistance Percentage (FMAP), or matching, rates for certain Medicaid beneficiaries in states. This rule codifies the increased FMAP rates that will be applicable […]
April 2013 Quarterly System Release – Claim Hold On April Fool’s Day, the first day federal payment cuts resulting from Congress’ failure to reach a budget compromise went into effect, CMS announced that the changes it made to its claims paying system rendered that system unable to properly process home health claims. It will […]
