Monthly Archives: July 2013

Differences & Similarities between Home Health Agencies and Nurse Registries – Part 2

We’ve been exploring the differences between home health agencies and nurse registries in this three-part series. In the first installment, we looked at the issues of billing Medicare and Medicaid. In this part, we’ll cover the second difference: responsibility for … Read Full Post

Tagged agencys provision of services, direct care providers, home health agencies, home health agency vs. nurse registry, independent contractor, medicare conditions of participation, nurse registries, quality assurance program, responsibility for a patients health |

Differences & Similarities between Home Health Agencies and Nurse Registries – Part 1

Many individuals who consider entering the market as a home health provider in Florida come to us with the same questions: What is the difference between a home health agency and a nurse registry? What factors should I consider when … Read Full Post

Tagged acccreditation commission for health care, accreditation, billing medicaid, billing medicare, community health accreditation program, deeming authority, florida home health providers, home health agencies, home health agency vs. nurse registry, medicare home health provider, nurse registries, the joint commission |

What We’re Reading – Boost Reimbursement through Improved Documentation: 5 Tips

Physicians and coders/billers need to be on the same page when it comes to getting claims processed and reimbursed correctly. The key to this – and you’re probably sick of hearing it – is documentation. Especially with ICD-10 coming around … Read Full Post

Tagged current procedural terminology, documentation, e&m, e&m level, ehr, electronic health record, evaluation and management, highest level of specificity, improving documentation, medical necessity, physician documentation, reimbursement |

Maximizing the first patient visit of a period

Risk adjusted reimbursement hinges on proper management and reporting of a patient’s chronic conditions. We always advise clients to assess all chronic conditions at least twice per year: once in the period between January 1st and June 30th and again … Read Full Post

Tagged chronic conditions, cms-hcc model, documentation, health risk assessment, hospital admissions, medicare risk adjustment, mra, patient visit, pcp assessment, reimbursement, risk adjusted reimbursement |

What We’re Reading – How Practice Managers Can Alleviate Physician Stress

Stress has become a common factor in every household and business and we all need someone or something to lighten our loads so the weight of the world isn’t resting on our shoulders. This article focuses on physicians and how … Read Full Post

Tagged medical offices, medical practice, physician practices, physicians, practice management, practice managers, provider offices, stress management, stress relieving ideas |

ICD-10 Implementation is not just Doom and Gloom

Doomsday predictions certainly abound – Heaven’s Gate, Y2K, the Mayan apocalypse – and they all came and went with a fizzle. ICD-10 has its own group of “end of the healthcare world as we know it” zealots who predict catastrophe … Read Full Post

Tagged basics of icd-10 coding, center for medicare and medicaid services, coding and billing, coversion to ICD-10, documentation, documentation guidelines, home health agencies, icd-10 assessment process, icd-10 conversion, icd-10 implementation, physician offices, poor documentation, practice management, practicing icd-10, transition to ICD-10 |

HR Issues for the Small Business: Disciplinary policies (Part 3)

Let’s face it, disciplining employees can be distasteful and this discomfort leads managers to follow the “let’s ignore the problem and see if it goes away” course of action. Not a good idea! Every business should have a standardized written … Read Full Post

Tagged disciplinary action, disciplinary policies, documentation, EEOC, entrepreneurs, home health agencies, hr issues, hr issues in small businesses, hr policies, human resources, medical practice, medical practice issues, orientation, practice management, small practice hr issues |