CMS released eight frequently asked questions related to the Medicare Outpatient Observation Notice March 8, the date by which all hospitals and critical access hospitals were required to begin delivering the new patient notice.
This week's note from the instructor continues last week's discussion regarding the multiple notices that hospitals and critical access hospitals are required to provide to outpatients and inpatients in particular situations.
Network devices make life easier in many ways, but they can be a significant challenge for security officers. These devices must be carefully managed and security officers need to be kept in the loop when any decision is made to add a device to the network.
Organizations today are putting a lot of energy into getting ready to comply with the NOTICE Act and Medicare Outpatient Observation Notice (MOON) guidelines, which go into effect on March 8 (see related story on p. 1). But this new notification requirement is giving them a related headache to contend with as well: issues related to the three-day qualifying inpatient stay required for Medicare coverage of the SNF benefit. The NOTICE Act is intended to ensure patients are aware of their status and the financial implications it may have for them—in particular, how it might affect their postacute care options.
What do we do when families want their loved one admitted as a hospital inpatient so he or she can qualify for a transfer to a skilled nursing facility?
No later than Wednesday of this week—March 8, 2017—hospitals (including critical access hospitals [CAH]) are required to meet the newest of Medicare’s numerous hospital notification requirements. Under the Notice of Observation Treatment and Implication for Care Eligibility (NOTICE) Act, hospitals must provide both written and oral notice regarding the outpatient nature of observation and the resulting implications to all Medicare beneficiaries who receive observation services for more than 24 hours. This notice must be provided in a prescribed form (the Medicare Outpatient Observation Notice [MOON]) within 36 hours of when observation care began and must meet certain additional requirements with respect to delivery, documentation, etc.
