Don't let the new patient-centered communication standards catch you up short. These standards, which took effect January 2011 and begin affecting survey findings January 2012, cover not only the Rights of the Individual chapter, but the Provision of Care; Human Resources; and Record of Care, Treatment, and Services chapters as well.
Editor's note: MRB is celebrating its 25th year in 2011, and each month we're bringing you special content. This month we've reached out to our editorial advisory board members and columnists for their advice on topics such as ICD-10, EHRs, and department management. We received so much information that we're putting together a compilation to release at the AHIMA annual convention in October in Salt Lake City-be sure to find us in the exhibit hall for your free copy. We'll also make it downloadable for all MRB subscribers after the conference. In the meantime, read on for a taste of what the board members had to say.
The Program for Evaluating Payment Patterns Electronic Report (PEPPER), distributed either quarterly or annually depending on the type of facility, contains large amounts of data on how a facility compares to others in the same state, the same jurisdiction (i.e., the same Medicare Administrative Contractor), and nationwide in terms of coding and medical necessity target areas. (Find out more at www.pepperresources.org.)PEPPER identifies when facilities are outliers in their reporting of multiple risk areas. For coding, those areas are:
When evaluating a family's ability, willingness, and availability to provide needed care to patients, discharge planners may become aware of scenarios that are not reasonable or safe for the patient.
September has always been synonymous with students returning to the classroom. While that may not be reason enough to review the HIPAA Privacy Rule, a more compelling reason to dust off the HIPAA education materials might be the government's increase in enforcement efforts.
