Blog

For some time now, several of my colleagues and I have been discussing the transformation of healthcare and how transparency, pay for performance, quality initiatives and the like will impact the way we provide healthcare for ever more.  Just this week, CMS made headway toward pushing operational information into the hands of anyone wishing to find it! The CMS News Release…
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With exactly 60 days to comment before July 1, 2013, CMS released the proposed IRF PPS Rule for fiscal year 2014, which would cover discharges on or after Oct. 1, 2013 – Sept. 30, 2014. The rule is referenced as CMS-1448-P and was filed 05/02/2013  with a to be published date of  05/08/2013. CMS is proposing robust updates and changes to next years IRF…
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Blebs; the telltale signs of diseased and damaged lungs, have long indicated the point of irreparable parenchymal destruction producing the stereotypical signs and symptoms of late stage COPD. But the bleb’s days may be numbered. According to snippet in the RC Currents section of the May issue of the AARC Times, John’s Hopkins researchers noted, “using hepatocyte growth factor (HGF)……
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On February 28 we issued a blog that discussed Medicare’s interim solution to providing outpatient therapy documentation review for patients that had neared or exceeded the 2013 threshold of therapy services CAP allowances. Going forward, with both the interim solution and the updated guidance, payment will hinge upon your waiting for the Fiscal Intermediary (FI/MAC) to begin the review process rather than the…
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We have officially had six months of two quality indicators being reported under our belts in IRF (if you chose to participate), and you are probably wondering, ‘What next?’ How might the next set of quality indicators be introduced and where might they come from? Aren’t you at least curious about what industry experts have discussed regarding quality measures being proposed? While at the…
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Presenters: Cinthea Sparkman, Adult Clinical Coordinator and Mickey Roach, System Administrator, University of Utah April 17, 2013 – 12:30 p.m. – 1:30 p.m. ET – Presenters will demonstrate the process of designing protocols via algorithms with subsequent coding in MediLinks to guide patient care pathways. This webinar will help you understand: (1) the value of electronic protocols in Respiratory Care;…
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The respiratory therapist is certainly found on the front lines of some hellacious halitosis. Some breath odors are helpful; giving clues to certain patient conditions; sweet smelling breath perhaps indicating the presence of ketones or the distinctive odor of pseudomonas for example. In recent years the technology of breath measurement or “breathprint”, as some have branded it, has begun to…
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Each year, regulatory ‘junkies’ like myself look forward to the spring AMRPA meeting because their sessions are geared to prepare facilities to meet with legislators to discuss and influence judgements through testimony related to their level of service and how they see proposed mandates affecting access to care and reimbursement. Invited guests have firsthand knowledge of everything we need to be concerned about in today’s ever-changing regulatory white…
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Kaiser Permanente Chairman and CEO George Halvorson makes no bones about laying out the coming days of healthcare. According to FierceHealthcare, he is quoted in a New York Times profile forecasting “We think the future of healthcare is going to be rationing or re-engineering (and) key to re-engineering healthcare for greater efficiency is moving care away from the hospital setting.”…
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The Novel Corona Virus (NCoV) is a new and notorious cousin of the common cold and something akin to SARS. Torn straight from the pages of “The Stand,” a novel by Stephen King, this newcomer to the Corona family prophetically poses the threat of worldwide calamity. Though ostensibly isolated (for now) to regions of the Middle East and Britain, according…
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