Essential Training At Your Finger Tips

You cannot afford to miss this opportunity and the very existence of your organization depends on your ability to calculate your particular risk when confronted by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Zone Program Integrity Contractor (ZPIC) audits, Pre-Claim Review Demonstration, and Value-Based Purchasing programs. This session will provide you an in-depth analysis of your agency’s “specific” CASPER data which will give you a good indication of the danger you are in when the Medicare “powers that be” come knocking at your door. You will not only understand your vulnerability but you will also be able to identify weaknesses in your processes and practice management that are putting your agency in peril. Seeing what CMS sees is paramount to your adoption of new systems that will not only keep you off the CMS target list, but these tried and true steps can greatly improve your quality of care and bring you greater financial success than you have ever known before. Participants MUST attend the webinar prepared with two copies of their CASPER report titled Agency Patient Related Characteristics report in the three column version, and a couple of yellow highlighters. Course Instructor - Michael McGowan Read more

CMS recently proposed two groundbreaking demonstration pilot programs aimed at reducing fraudulent and abusive practices occurring among Home Health agencies providing services to Medicare beneficiaries. A proposed FRAUD MEASUREMENT pilot would establish a baseline estimate of probable fraud in payments for Home Health care services in the fee-for-service Medicare program. In addition, a proposed PRIOR AUTHORIZATION pilot process would require the submission of a pre-authorization request for an approval determination that would be applied before processing a Home Health claim. These programs focus on areas of Home Health production and delivery for PPS compliance and integrity. The Fraud Measurement Program collects info from Home Health agencies, referring physicians and Medicare beneficiaries, along with a historical billing summary of the agencies involved, to estimate the percentage of fraudulent payments. For the Prior Authorization proposal, a Home Health referral prompts the submission of an authorization request to proceed with approved programming. For further insight into how these programs will change Home Health delivery, this progressive presentation will outline the how’s and why’s of the new programs, and identify areas of your care you will want to review as you prepare for these new fraud-fighting models. Course Instructor - Arnie Cisneros Read more

Qualifications, Responsibility, Duties, And The Stress Level, With Tips For Success Featuring Guest Speaker Glenda Burke of Alternatives: A Consulting and Education Service I sometimes wonder how many DONs became a DON through a battle field promotion, 50% maybe more. The words “Director of Nursing” are a mere title but truly being a DON is so much more! How many of us became DONS, ill-prepared and pushed into duty with a promise of “intense training, and extensive orientation”, sometime down the road. If you are currently a DON or have been one in the past, how did that work out for you? In my experience it was not easy and after much agonizing and self-recriminations, we managed to be successful, or we quit. Here is a program that can allow you to skip some of the agony, stress and hair pulling moments in this journey to success or be an excellent refresher course for the seasoned professional who could use a reminder of just what a DON should be doing. Please join me for the first of two webinar programs to educate and hopefully entertain current and prospective DONs. Course instructor - Glenda A. Burke, RN, BS Read more

This session will educate home health agencies on the new long term-care managed care program, which will be rolled out across the State of Florida beginning in August in Orlando. How can your non-skilled agency work with this new program to increase your census? How can your Medicare certified agency partner with contractors to improve continuity of care for dual eligible enrollees? Debbie Lynott is from American Elder Care, the only contractor to be awarded the contract for this program state-wide. She will discuss how this new program is different than the current Medicaid Waiver programs and how your agency and patients may benefit. Course Instructor - Debbie Lynott   PT credits awarded for course completions are approved for 1 year and expire at the end of the calendar year unless otherwise stated. For a complete list of courses offering PT credits for this year, click here. Read more

The Human Resources (HR) process often rates lower in the scheme of importance within home health agencies than most other activities. It is often treated as an afterthought and assigned to a clerical person who is already overworked with tasks that are considered more important, especially in free-­‐standing home care entities. Hospital based agencies may be connected to the hospital HR departments and regard HR responsibilities with a little more importance, however the requirements for home health agencies compared to other health care entities are far different. Some important compliance elements can easily be lost in the shuffle.   For example, the specific home care requirements for tediously tracking the education/training activities within defined timelines of staff can be very wearisome in order to maintain compliance. Take, for instance, the 12 hours required for home health aides.   In this webinar, we will identify mandatory HR requirements and debunk some of the myths that are falsely thought to be mandatory. We will demonstrate methods of organizing your HR activities to minimize identification of deficit practices in the survey process and maximize the HR staff’s time and effort. Examples of critical HR policies will be presented with concepts for development and implementation specific to your agency. Course instructor - Glenda Burke Read more

Mobile health technologies can transcend the boundaries of health care delivery limitations, and fill gaps in health care services as demands increase. An aging population and overstrained health care resources are realities we face in the coming years. Innovative thinking that leverages mHealth technologies can transform the way home health and hospice services are delivered. Course Instructor - Scott Herrmann Read more