DecisionHealth Educates the Nation’s Hospitals on How to Get Reimbursed Under New Medicare CMS Rules
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid services (CMS) recently announced plans to add nine more conditions to its “do-not-pay” list, bringing to 17 the number of hospital-acquired conditions (HACs) for which hospitals will not receive Medicare reimbursement if they occur during the inpatient stay. DecisionHealth gathers hundreds of healthcare professionals to learn the best practices that some of the nation’s top performing hospitals have developed to reduce or even eliminate HACs.
Gaithersburg, MD, May 22, 2008 --(PR.com)-- Aetna, Anthem, WellPoint, Cigna and even Medicare are among a growing list of health insurance companies and payors that will no provide payment to hospitals for services that result in serious and preventable adverse medical events.
Hospitals will lose billions of dollars a result, according to recent estimates by HealthGrades. The lost revenue could climb even higher; the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid services (CMS) recently announced plans to add nine more conditions to its “do-not-pay” list, bringing to 17 the number of hospital-acquired conditions (HACs) for which hospitals will not receive Medicare reimbursement if they occur during the inpatient stay.
Such programs are the backdrop of a two-day conference for healthcare executives and professionals sponsored by DecisionHealth. “Building Immunity Against Hospital-Acquired Conditions: A Blueprint for Success,” takes place at the Denver Marriott Renaissance Denver Hotel, July 14 – 15, 2008. Hundreds of healthcare professionals will gather to learn the best practices that some of the nation’s top performing hospitals have developed to reduce or even eliminate HACs.
“We recruited front-line clinicians from some of the best hospitals in the country to share the best practices they’ve developed to prevent HACs,” says Wendy Johnson, Executive Editor of Inside the Joint Commission, published by DecisionHealth, a lead sponsor of the conference. “Given the explosive impact CMS’s new program will have on hospital revenue, a sell-out is expected.”
In addition to best practices, Dr. Mark Levine, chief medical officer at CMS, will provide comprehensive, exclusive information about CMS’s new “do-not-pay” program, which could include as many as 17 conditions when it takes effect Oct 1.
Other presentations will include:
1. Using bar code technology to prevent retained surgical objects: Meg Kim, operating room nurse manager at Loyola University Medical Center, will detail how Loyola has vastly improved the accuracy of its surgical counts by using bar code technology. Loyola is one of the only hospitals in the nation to use cutting-edge bar code technology to track all sponges during surgery.
2. Pressure Ulcers: A clinical nurse specialist at Chilton Memorial Hospital in New Jersey shares what it takes to maintain a 0% pressure ulcer rate – hospital wide.
3. Injuries from falls: Learn how Iowa Health System eliminated nearly 3,000 falls in one year and reduced harm caused by falls to just 1 in 10,000 patient days.
4. VAP: CMS just announced plans to add ventilator-associated pneumonia to its do-not-pay list. Hear how frontline nurses, multidisciplinary care bundles, the latest equipment and tried-and-true strategies such as head-of-bed elevation and hand hygiene can effectively zap a hospital’s VAP infection rate.
5. How communication contributes to HACs: Stephen Harden, a former Top Gun fighter pilot, who is now a nationally renowned patient safety expert, reveals how to find hidden cracks in your communication processes that can lead to catastrophic consequences.
6. UTI infections: How University Specialty Hospital in Baltimore moved its UTI rate way down -- from a peak of 7.54 UTIs per 1,000 device days to just 1.77 – far lower than the national benchmark of 2.7.
7. CABG infections: Strategies for assessing a patient’s SSI risk factors; protocols that can reduce SSIs; proven ways to overcome staff’s resistance to change and how to involve patients in your efforts.
For more information about DecisionHealth’s Building Immunity Against Hospital-Acquired Conditions: A Blueprint for Success, on July 14 – 15 in Denver, visit www.decisionhealth.com/HACDenver.
About DecisionHealth
DecisionHealth™ serves the business and regulatory needs of health care practitioners, providers and their administrative staff nationwide. For more than 20 years, DecisionHealth has served as the industry's leading source for news, analysis and instructional guidance with brand names such as Inside the Joint Commission, Part B News and Medicare Compliance Alert. Their unique blend of award-winning on-staff journalists and unmatched access to health care executives, providers and their administrative staffs results in business management advice and operationally focused editorial that has captured the attention of nearly 100,000 home healthcare professionals and specialty physician practices. www.DecisionHealth.com
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Hospitals will lose billions of dollars a result, according to recent estimates by HealthGrades. The lost revenue could climb even higher; the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid services (CMS) recently announced plans to add nine more conditions to its “do-not-pay” list, bringing to 17 the number of hospital-acquired conditions (HACs) for which hospitals will not receive Medicare reimbursement if they occur during the inpatient stay.
Such programs are the backdrop of a two-day conference for healthcare executives and professionals sponsored by DecisionHealth. “Building Immunity Against Hospital-Acquired Conditions: A Blueprint for Success,” takes place at the Denver Marriott Renaissance Denver Hotel, July 14 – 15, 2008. Hundreds of healthcare professionals will gather to learn the best practices that some of the nation’s top performing hospitals have developed to reduce or even eliminate HACs.
“We recruited front-line clinicians from some of the best hospitals in the country to share the best practices they’ve developed to prevent HACs,” says Wendy Johnson, Executive Editor of Inside the Joint Commission, published by DecisionHealth, a lead sponsor of the conference. “Given the explosive impact CMS’s new program will have on hospital revenue, a sell-out is expected.”
In addition to best practices, Dr. Mark Levine, chief medical officer at CMS, will provide comprehensive, exclusive information about CMS’s new “do-not-pay” program, which could include as many as 17 conditions when it takes effect Oct 1.
Other presentations will include:
1. Using bar code technology to prevent retained surgical objects: Meg Kim, operating room nurse manager at Loyola University Medical Center, will detail how Loyola has vastly improved the accuracy of its surgical counts by using bar code technology. Loyola is one of the only hospitals in the nation to use cutting-edge bar code technology to track all sponges during surgery.
2. Pressure Ulcers: A clinical nurse specialist at Chilton Memorial Hospital in New Jersey shares what it takes to maintain a 0% pressure ulcer rate – hospital wide.
3. Injuries from falls: Learn how Iowa Health System eliminated nearly 3,000 falls in one year and reduced harm caused by falls to just 1 in 10,000 patient days.
4. VAP: CMS just announced plans to add ventilator-associated pneumonia to its do-not-pay list. Hear how frontline nurses, multidisciplinary care bundles, the latest equipment and tried-and-true strategies such as head-of-bed elevation and hand hygiene can effectively zap a hospital’s VAP infection rate.
5. How communication contributes to HACs: Stephen Harden, a former Top Gun fighter pilot, who is now a nationally renowned patient safety expert, reveals how to find hidden cracks in your communication processes that can lead to catastrophic consequences.
6. UTI infections: How University Specialty Hospital in Baltimore moved its UTI rate way down -- from a peak of 7.54 UTIs per 1,000 device days to just 1.77 – far lower than the national benchmark of 2.7.
7. CABG infections: Strategies for assessing a patient’s SSI risk factors; protocols that can reduce SSIs; proven ways to overcome staff’s resistance to change and how to involve patients in your efforts.
For more information about DecisionHealth’s Building Immunity Against Hospital-Acquired Conditions: A Blueprint for Success, on July 14 – 15 in Denver, visit www.decisionhealth.com/HACDenver.
About DecisionHealth
DecisionHealth™ serves the business and regulatory needs of health care practitioners, providers and their administrative staff nationwide. For more than 20 years, DecisionHealth has served as the industry's leading source for news, analysis and instructional guidance with brand names such as Inside the Joint Commission, Part B News and Medicare Compliance Alert. Their unique blend of award-winning on-staff journalists and unmatched access to health care executives, providers and their administrative staffs results in business management advice and operationally focused editorial that has captured the attention of nearly 100,000 home healthcare professionals and specialty physician practices. www.DecisionHealth.com
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DecisionHealth
Wendy Johnson
301.287.2386
www.decisionhealth.com
http://www.decisionhealth.com/HACDenver
Wendy Johnson
301.287.2386
www.decisionhealth.com
http://www.decisionhealth.com/HACDenver
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