CMS has reinstated the short-stay reviews and high-weighted DRG reviews originally halted in 2019. The national contract to conduct these reviews was awarded to Livanta, one of the Beneficiary & Family-Centered Care and Quality Improvement Organizations.
HHS recently issued its Summer 2021 OCR Cybersecurity Newsletter, covering the topic of controlling access to ePHI. HHS officials cited a Verizon 2021 Data Breach Investigations report that found 61% of analyzed data breaches in the healthcare sector were perpetrated by external threat actors and 39% were carried out by insiders.
This week’s Medicare updates include an announcement on expanded payments for at-home COVID-19 vaccinations, dates for implementation of the Prior Authorization Model for Repetitive, Scheduled Non-Emergent Ambulance Transports nationwide, an OIG review of phlebotomy travel allowances, and more!
Audits are ramping up across the country, creating additional headaches for many healthcare organizations as they simultaneously struggle with the delta variant of COVID-19.
CMS walked back some major policy changes and cemented others in the 2022 Inpatient Prospective Payment System (IPPS) final rule. Brush up on the latest changes and ensure your hospital is ready to comply by October 1.