CMS published their proposed Hospice Payment Rate updates on April 14. The proposed rule has changes beyond the payment rate that will impact hospice. The changes include: Hospice Conditions of Participation (CoPs) Hospice Quality Reporting Program (HQRP) Home Health Quality Reporting Program (HH QRP) Routine updates to hospice base payments and aggregate cap amount for […]
Read More
Advance care planning (ACP) is a critical component in end-of-life care. By proactively considering how, when, and where they prefer to receive medical treatment, hospice patients can both streamline care processes and significantly reduce the stress of familial decision-making in the event they can’t speak for themselves. According to the CDC, however, 70 percent […]
Read More
Since 2013, the federal law has required a 2% reduction to the reimbursement (applied to the 80% of the allowed charge) that a participating provider would receive directly from Medicare; this reduction in payment is referred to as “sequestration” because a set percentage of money is automatically removed (or “sequestered”) from the amount of funding […]
Read More
When a patient is in hospice, all-around care becomes essential for families who are struggling to come to terms with a new reality. Granted, the pain and anguish of this difficult time may manifest itself in different ways from one family member to another. But the resources and support that hospices provide may be key […]
Read More
Recent Acquisition of Casamba Extends Capabilities for Providers We recently announced that Net Health has acquired Casamba, LLC, a provider of electronic medical record (EMR) solutions for physical, speech and occupational therapy providers as well as home health and hospice agencies. The move continues our efforts to further expand our presence in the post-acute care […]
Read More
Hospice care is designed to help terminally ill people live out their final days in as much comfort as possible. The practical application of palliative care, in most cases, focuses on alleviating physical pain. This makes sense. Severe conditions can be excruciating, and pain management is something that medical professionals and caregivers know how to […]
Read More
Patient care is a priority for hospices everywhere. That’s because one of the key goals for hospices is to bring comfort and solace to patients who are under the care of nurses and medical staff. But as hospices look to improve their interactions with patients while simultaneously addressing their end-of-life wishes and needs, there are a […]
Read More
It’s natural for families to feel anxiety and a certain level of uncertainty when their loved one enters hospice care. Emotions are often raw and exposed when families find themselves walking alongside their loved one in their end-of-life journey. At a time of great distress and heartache, it becomes even more important for hospices to engage […]
Read More
Hospice-based care has seen substantial growth over the past few years thanks to new operational models, improved use of healthcare data and increasing public awareness.1 For many hospice agencies, however, the emerging complexity around compliance documentation – combined with evolving pandemic pressures – has highlighted the need for increased personalization with the Plan of Care […]
Read More
Social and emotional support plays a key role in healthcare, with improved social integration and emotional interaction both having positive effects on overall patient outcomes.1 For hospices navigating the shift to patient-centered care models, this is especially critical, since the provision of consistent and compassionate emotional support can help improve the end-of-life experience for both […]
Read More
In a hospice setting, workflow and communication can be some of the biggest pain points. The recent move toward remote work has complicated matters even further, but these problems have been around for a long time. A lot of this comes down to the well-known technology gap present across the industry.1 Put simply, many providers […]
Read More
The digital revolution of data, analytics, and software solutions has been incredibly beneficial for healthcare and the hospice industry is no different. There are now so many opportunities to increase efficiency, streamline processes, and generally improve care across the board. All these gains are not without drawbacks, however. Inaccurate data and poor documentation, for example, […]
Read More