While the number of nurse practitioners is expected to nearly double by 2025, many in the field say payer policies hurt their efficiency, even more than state scope-of-practice laws.
March 04, 2013
In all the tumult over the Time magazine expose of pervasive and obscene healthcare billing excesses, you might have missed the almost as exciting discovery that foot massages at work lower blood pressure and anxiety for dementia caregivers. At least one snippy McKnight's reader irately claims this isn't "real news." He or she definitely needs a lengthy foot rub, and possibly half a Xanax dissolved in a cup of chamomile tea.
In light of recent allegations of gross upcoding in therapy circles, an upcoming webcast on appropriate patient evaluation and management documentation could prove popular. Alva Baker, M.D., CMD, who has been a medical director for 29 years, will examine the relationships between E/M documentation and coding and billing. Topics within the webcast include a review of the billing codes for services provided to residents in the long-term care setting, as well as the E/M documentation system. The event will take place from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. (Eastern Time) on Thursday. It is sponsored by the American Medical Directors Association.
November 19, 2012
What happens when delegation without accountability takes place? We saw a good example last week, when the Office of Inspector General released a damning report about excessive Medicare charges from nursing homes.
Providers need to have the appropriate staff and data analytics programs in place to defend against the onslaught of more Medicare and Medicaid claims audits, an expert urged.
September 10, 2012
Recovery audit contractors are stepping up their efforts to review Medicare billings. This appears to be a classic case of auditors gone wild.
Optimus EMR Inc. recently announced the creation of Visum Solutions. The independent division was formed to provide tailored assistance to long-term care facilities. Available services target operations, billing, reimbursement, and compliance, in addition to specific client requests
The next federal "Open Door Forum" for skilled nursing and long-term care operators takes place at 1 p.m. Thursday. Regulators say they hope to address MDS 3.0, billing, website and ENCORE issues. The monthly hour-long calls are hosted by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services and are open to all interested stakeholders. Those who want to listen in or ask a question should dial (800) 837-1935 and give reference number 27269788. Officials recommend calling in about 15 minutes early in order to ensure hearing the start of the session.
February 22, 2012
As a manager, I used to love to promote point-of-service, or POS. As a therapist, I used to despise POS. How could I have such a love-hate relationship with POS?
February 22, 2012
As a manager, I used to love to promote point-of-service, or POS. As a therapist, I used to despise POS. How could I have such a love-hate relationship with POS?
February 22, 2012
You can thank some boneheaded long-term care executives from across the pond for the latest black eye to your profession.
January 24, 2012
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has clarified the terms under which states can terminate a provider's participation in state Medicaid programs.
October 08, 2010
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services on Tuesday released the first edition of a new quarterly newsletter that aims to help providers avoid Medicare billing and compliance errors.
March 30, 2010
Healthcare analysts at the Department of Health and Human Services are re-evaluating Medicare's "ultra-high" billing category for therapy services in skilled nursing facilities as a potential way to reduce wasteful spending, according to a Washington Post report.
