Improving quality and reducing the cost of care are primary objectives of healthcare reform. Providers in all care settings are incented to demonstrate and report effectiveness in meeting these expectations. Developing the appropriate metrics to quantify improvements is the first step. However, the lack of organizational validation could leave clinical people wondering why their efforts fail to produce greater impact…
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Outpatient rehabilitation therapy services provided by hospitals have been a watershed opportunity for revenue growth for the past 25 years. For many providers growth of these services lines has exceeded inpatient therapy revenues. One reason for such growth has been the fact that hospitals have been exempt from the Medicare payment limitations known as “Therapy Caps”. Do not think this…
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As the economy rebounds, the unemployment picture brightens with evidence of trend data provided by the Bureau of Labor and Statistics. And while it may be quite some time before it is business as usual again, things are looking promising for the rest of the economy. That is, until I read that demand for healthcare practitioners dipped in March according…
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In post-acute rehabilitation, the measurement, capture, analysis and reporting of outcomes have a 25 year history. It has established a precedent for industry comparison of provider performance to drive improvement within the rehabilitation sector. Better than, worse than, or equal to others references how one is doing when matched against one’s peers in areas of agreed measurement. This is good,…
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There is no doubt the rehabilitation industry is being transformed. Yes, we all feel the impact of stricter enforcement of regulations, guidelines and clinical expectations for practice and compliance. These changes, while significant, may not come close to the pressures of increased transparency and reporting of quality and performance. Soon, mandatory reporting of quality and performance will appear online and…
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Why does management think that clinicians should not have access to information regarding cost and reimbursement of their healthcare operations? It seems that this has been a prevailing attitude among administrators who believe that nurses and therapists get too hung up on the numbers and should not be concerned about these financial matters; just attend to patient care and leave…
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Why do automotive companies compete in racing events that cost millions of dollars annually and add expense to every car sold? Competition brings gratification, reward and recognition for being the best in a head-to-head fight to the finish line. But competition also finely hones the automaker’s skills and talents with key knowledge and experience required to produce the best automobile. …
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To be clear, let’s review the Medicare requirements for Interdisciplinary Team Care and Coordination. The current Medicare publication, Inpatient Rehabilitation Therapy Services: Complying with Documentation Requirements, provides a convenient summary of expectations. …The purpose of the interdisciplinary team is to foster frequent, structured, and documented communication among disciplines to establish, prioritize and achieve treatment goals. Team conferences must be held once a…
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Healthcare reform remains in the news and on the minds of everyone with an economic interest in care delivery. As providers we know change is coming but until now the only thing different has been speculation on how we will be paid for what we do. Not waiting for change to dictate what to do, payers and providers are experimenting…
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With all the discussion of the CMS value-based purchasing initiatives, many in our industry still don’t see how this relates to the tasks of rehabilitating patients and improving functional abilities. The value of improving a patient’s ability to brush his teeth or dress her lower body is different for each patient and thought to be as the ad says, “priceless.”…
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