According to CMS, the top survey deficiency cited for hospice continues to be Standard §418.56(b)—Plan of Care.  This regulation is fairly straight forward; however, state surveyors consistently find deficiencies.  The issue often boils down to good communication between members of the interdisciplinary team (IDG) and adequate documentation.  The IDG is responsible for collaborating with the…

Home Health, Home Care and Hospice Products meet CHAP Standards DENTON, TX., May 19, 2022 – We are proud to announce that CHAP has named tools produced by MAC Legacy as “CHAP Verified” resources.  CHAP conducted a thorough product review on a number of tools to verify that they allow organizations to meet the intent…

Recently, CMS issued a revision to a previously released transmittal—Change Request 12615.  The subject was an update to Chapter 7, Home Health Services in the Medicare Benefit Policy Manual.  One of the items included in this transmittal was a clarification of the rule change from the CARES Act which allows clinical nurse specialists, physician’s assistants,…

Home health agencies will be transitioning to a new OASIS data set, the OASIS-E, in January 2023.  The IMPACT Act established in 2014 was designed to standardize post-acute care reporting data among various providers.  SPADEs–Standardized Patient Assessment Data Elements—was a result of the IMPACT Act.  CMS’ goal is to regulate quality measures across the post-acute…

As scrutiny of hospice organizations increase, it’s particularly important for hospices to ensure their certifications and recertifications of terminal illness meet all required elements.  In the 2021 Medicare FFS Supplemental Improper Payment Data report of improper payments, the top cause for error was “insufficient documentation of the physician’s certification/recertification”.  A few short months from now,…

Spring in the United States brings more than beautiful flowers and green grass.  In fact, this Spring has brought snow storms, wildfires, floods, and deadly tornadoes.  The Conditions of Participation for home health, hospice, and many state licensed home services require the establishment of an emergency plan for its organization, employees, and patients. In addition…

  Sigh.  Raise your hand if you thought this virus would be gone by now.  The healthcare community and public are being overloaded with information—masks or no masks, boosters or no boosters—and on and on.  OSHA recently announced it is holding public hearings in the next 10 days regarding a final standard to protect healthcare…

CMS recently updated the Code of Federal Regulations for Home Health Services (Part 484) as well as the Medicare Benefit Policy Manuals—Chapter 7 for Home Health Agencies.  The changes reflect alterations in the Conditions of Participation released in the home health final rule last year and became effective on January 1, 2022.  There is always…

Both home health agencies and hospices may care for patient wounds in the course of their work.  Wound care may involve treatment of ulcers, burns, pressure sores, open surgical sites, fistulas, tube sites, and tumor erosion sites as well as other types of wounds.  The challenges of wound care include several factors—accurate assessment of the…

The Final Rule for hospice 2022  included the retirement of public reporting of seven Hospice Item Set (HIS) measures.  These were replaced with a claims-based composite item called the Hospice Care Index (HCI).  This new item will be publicly reported no sooner than May 2022.  In case you missed it or need a refresher, there…