On Wednesday, August 21, CMS hosted a National Provider Call for home health providers titled “Home Health Patient-Driven Groupings Model: Operational Issues.” The presentation discussed PDGM claims submission, new occurrence codes, and several scenarios related to early vs. late timing of 30-day periods and institutional vs. community admissions. Highlights include: To access the presentation and the call…
When it comes to the pandemic, the word “positive” doesn’t have a great reputation. For hospice and home health providers especially, rising COVID positivity rates and ensuing restrictions created substantial challenges. According to a recent study of pandemic impacts on U.S. hospice agencies, nearly one-third of providers reported negative effects on patient outcomes related to…
If there’s one thing the pandemic has made abundantly clear, it’s that we can never go back to the way things were. For hospice and home health providers, the last two years have seen staff pushed to the brink — and beyond — as they coped with massive stress, minimal resources, and continually-moving restrictions. Technology…
Roughly 50 miles from New York City, Regional Hospice is the largest non-profit organization in Western Connecticut. Located in Danbury, CT, the organization has been providing end-of-life care and bereavement support to surrounding communities for almost 40 years. Regional Hospice implemented Casamba Home & Hospice back in 2010 when they realized their previous EHR solution…
Home health services are seeing “much faster than average job growth” according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.1 As noted by the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP), however, “the COVID-19 pandemic has created and exacerbated challenges for home health just at the time of increased need.”2 Some of these challenges include lack of specific…
When it comes to job training, standardization matters, and this is especially true for home health care teams. To ensure patients receive effective and comprehensive care, home health providers are encouraged to provide training frameworks that are clear, consistent, and compliant. But evolving market challenges make this kind of standardization difficult. A recent government report…
Care expectations are evolving, shifting away from in-facility models to more familiar frameworks that allow patients to receive health services and support at home. Pandemic pressures have accelerated this change. Given that severe outcomes are occurring with greater frequency in non-home care settings, many older Americans now prefer to stay at home as long as…
Home injury recovery can present challenges for even the most experienced home health provider. Thankfully, there are ways to help ease the processes that are often overlooked. From transitions to patient mental health, here are three key areas to focus on that will help maximize a home health recovery program’s effectiveness. Provide Effective Transitions A…
Ninety percent of seniors plan to stay in their current homes for the next five to ten years, but 72 percent of low-to-moderate income individuals report a chronic illness that makes this aging-in-place approach more challenging.1 Home health care offers a way to bridge the gap by providing critical assistance where patients feel most comfortable….
Employment for home health and personal care aides is predicted to grow “much faster than average” over the next decade, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.1 Even with this predicted increase, however, there’s a growing gap between the number of available personnel and the patients they serve. Those looking for care already outnumber…