It’s an ongoing struggle for those in the home care industry – how to better communicate the value and benefits of healthcare at home. For Tim Rogers, who serves as President and CEO for both the Association for Home & Hospice Care of North Carolina and the South Carolina Home... Keep Reading
The most fundamental aspect of hospice care is pain and symptom management to ensure quality of life is maximized for our patients. This often means the use of prescribed and over-the-counter medications, herbal remedies and other alternative treatments. Hospices must provide safe and effective management of these therapies. Medication management... Keep Reading
As the home health industry evolves under the Patient-Driven Groupings Model (PDGM), providers must continue to be mindful of how their practices of delivering quality care can evolve as well.
The adjustment to the new payment reform has forced providers to take a closer look at their operations to deliver cost-efficient... Keep Reading
The Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (CAHPS) Hospice Survey empowers hospice organizations by attracting referral sources, driving business growth, and sustaining compliance with industry regulations, including the current pay-for-reporting requirements and the shift to value-based care on the industry’s horizon. By evaluating hospice patient and caregiver experiences, the... Keep Reading
The Patient-Driven Groupings Model is certainly the biggest change to Medicare home health reimbursement in 20 years. However, this fundamental challenge to revenue cycle management is less daunting for providers who use Axxess solutions. During the recent Home Health Care News Summit in Chicago, industry leaders painted a dark view... Keep Reading
For many in the hospice industry, caring for people at the end of life is a calling. Tarrah Lowry, president and CEO of Sangre de Cristo Hospice and Palliative Care in Pueblo, Colorado, began working in hospice care by a rather unusual route: through the automotive industry. Lowry had an... Keep Reading
There are many reasons that OASIS accuracy is vital to the success of an agency. But it is so much more than just the connection between accurate information and episode reimbursement. It is also important to keep in mind the impact that the OASIS assessment has on your Quality of... Keep Reading
Under the current fee-for-service payment system, there is not always a clear correlation between good quality ratings and the amount of money Medicare spends on home healthcare reimbursement. Indeed, increased spending is not always associated with higher quality care or better patient health outcomes. As the focus of home healthcare... Keep Reading
The nationwide caregiver and nursing shortage is projected to worsen in the coming years due to the increase in aging baby boomers. Staffing challenges, from caregiver hiring to retention, were the top concern for 77% of home care agencies surveyed by Home Care Pulse in 2017.
This means that it is... Keep Reading
This is the first installment in a series of blogs on optimizing hospice patient and family experiences by examining each question on the CAHPS Hospice Survey and exploring opportunities to improve hospice care delivery.
The Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (CAHPS) Hospice Survey empowers hospice organizations by attracting referral... Keep Reading
One thing everyone in the home health industry can relate to is an environment of constant change. The Patient-Driven Groupings Model (PDGM) is only the latest example. There have been changes to ICD-10 codes and guidelines, CoPs, adjustments to the formatting of the OASIS, added and removed Outcomes and Process... Keep Reading
With more than 28 years of healthcare at home experience, Jamie Summerfelt, M.Ed, MSPT, president and CEO of Visiting Nurse Association (VNA) in Omaha, Nebraska, is passionate about home care. He began his career in home health as a physical therapist, providing outpatient care in the 1970s. Summerfelt loves the... Keep Reading
