This week’s Medicare updates include the introduction of new drug spending dashboards to improve transparency, new cost reporting forms for community mental health centers and rural health clinics, the quarterly update to the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule Database, and more!
Patient care is strengthened by the RN case manager and social work relationship. Social workers should consider patient psychosocial needs alongside the RN case manager’s assessment of the patient’s disease trajectory and recovery requirements.
HIPAA says staff should only access the minimum necessary amount of information to do their jobs. But defining roles, access, and minimum necessary can quickly become a complicated exercise in frustration. Use this tool to help your organization form a practical minimum necessary policy.
Q: Our facility is interested in conducting audits for observation and drug administration services, but understand they should be considered differently from other services. What details should we take into account before we begin?
It’s no secret that social factors can create sizable barriers for case managers who are working to prevent readmissions, plan for discharges, and meet length of stay targets. Unfortunately, government regulators often don’t factor these issues in when they are looking at quality measures. But that is starting to change.
