Representatives of CMS’ Survey and Certification Group provided valuable insight into the top 10 survey citations/deficiencies for hospice providers at the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization’s, 27th Annual Management and Leadership Conference last week. The informative session discussed survey deficiencies, the implementation of quality measures as well as CMS’ efforts to reform the hospice reimbursement system. Understanding the top 10 survey deficiencies is an important part of planning overall regulatory compliance initiatives and day to day operations. The top ten citations relate broadly to the areas of care planning, supervision and training of employees, and the provision of certain counseling services. Continue reading
Category Archives: Hospice
OIG’s Semi-Annual Report – What’s in it for Home Health and Hospice
Well, it took me a little longer to get to this than I planned, but the Thanksgiving holiday weekend slowed me down a bit. As promised, here is a look at what the OIG semi-annual report has to say about home health and hospice. The good news is that, unlike in some prior years, it does not say much. Continue reading
Comments Off
Posted in Fraud and Abuse, Health Care, Health Care Providers, Home Health, Hospice, OIG, OIG Work Plans, Palliative Care, Post Acute Care, Program Integrity
Medication Profile Reviews
Having seen this issue come up in surveys over the years, I thought this was an interesting article to pass along. It discusses a new study that concludes as much as 40% of older adults in home health care may be taking medicines that are potentially unsafe or ineffective. I am not a clinician (although several of my colleagues are and I invite them to comment), so I won’t comment on the study. I will, however, reiterate that this is a reminder agencies need to be keeping up on Medication reviews with patients. The doctor interviewed in the study mentions medication reviews and patients assessments as a great tool to avoid this problem.
Comments Off
Posted in Home Health, Hospice, Post Acute Care
New York Passes The Family Health Care Decisions Act
On February 24, 2010, the Senate of the State of New York passed (S.3164/A.7729), The Family Health Care Decisions Act (the “FHCDA”). The New York Assembly passed the bill in January. This important piece of legislation allowing for surrogates to make health care decisions in certain circumstances has been in the works since 1993. NY Governor David A. Paterson applauded the passage of the FHCDA.
Consumers and health care providers have historically had to rely on a patchwork of common law decisions and the Health Care Proxy and Do-Not-Resuscitate laws to address personal health care decisions. New York common law (in a line of well know court decisions) provides that life-sustaining treatment cannot be withdrawn or withheld, unless clear and convincing evidence of the patient’s wishes can be produced. An advance directive could serve as that evidence but way too often patients have not completed one when they were competent.
The FHCDA now provides a framework for health care decisions to be made by surrogates. By doing so, it reduces the uncertainty and need for judicial determination in many situations in which current law did not provide a clear way for a health care decision to be made for an incompetent patient.
You can find a copy of (S.3164/A.7729), The Family Health Care Decisions Act at http://assembly.state.ny.us/leg/?default_fld=&bn=A07729%09%09&Summary=Y&Actions=Y&Votes=Y&Memo=Y&Text=Y
Comments Off
Posted in Acute Care, Advanced Directives, Clinics, Consumers, Continuing Care, Health Care Decisions, Home Health, Hospice, Hospital, New York, Nursing Home, Palliative Care, Physicians, Post Acute Care, Rehabilitation
Tagged Advanced Directives, Consumer, FHCDA, Health Care Decisions, Health Care Proxy, Home Health, Hospital, New York, Nursing Home, Patient, Physician, Surrogate Decisions
Benesch
Ari J. Markenson, JD, MPH
Janet K. Feldkamp RN BSN LNHA CHC JD
Robert W. Markette, Jr. CHC
W. Clifford Mull
Frank W. Carsonie
Daniel J. O'Brien
Benjamin J. Parsons
Meredith L. Rosenbeck
Alan E. Schabes
