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| THE PATHFINDER NEWSLETTER |
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Hello!
Welcome to the November 2011 issue of THE PATHFINDER.
Long time no hear, eh? I admit it - It has been several months since I have produced a newsletter. The last three months have been filled with some personal and professional highlights. On the personal side I took a trip with family to China! The trip brought the opportunity to visit places that I had only read about. It was truly a wonderful experience.
Soon after our return from China, Barbara, Lynn and I spoke at the the National Association of Home Care's Annual Meeting. Our thanks to all of you who attended our session and for your thought provoking questions and positive comments. We appreciated the opportunity to see old friends at the NAHC meeting and introduce ourselves to new organizations.
We are gearing up for our participation in the 2011 HCap Meeting being held 12/7 - 12/9 in Washington DC. There is more information on the meeting in the column to the left.
In this month's newsletter I have included a new blog entry by Reginald Hislop. He does an excellent job - as usual - explaining the factors which result in lower hospice patient census across the industry.
The second article is also about hospice...specifically the Medicare Cost Cap. Richard Chesney compares the current one year as well as the two year approach to the hospice cap on a state-by state basis.
For our third article, I wanted to include an entry from Ken Accardi's Ankota Management Blog, "Study Shows That Non-Medical Home Care Reduces Healthcare Costs" by Laura Sands, a professor in the Nursing School of Purdue University.
Thanks for being patient! It's back to a regular schedule for me on the newsletters...I promise!
Take some time to enjoy this season. I hope each and every one of you have the opportunity to enjoy a quiet autumn evening watching a sunset, the opportunity to hear the laughter of children running through piles of leaves or a Saturday morning ride in a convertible to enjoy the colors.
If we can provide you with any assistance, please do not hesitate to contact us.
Best wishes, Beth Carpenter
“Let us realize that the privilege to work is a gift, that the power to work is a blessing, that the love of work is success.” David O. McKay |
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Hospice Census: Where's It At?
by Reg Hislop III
A common question I am fielding has to do with the current "no growth" pattern of hospice census; in some cases, decline is more operative of the pattern. Briefly, there are a number of factors at play, some recurring themes and some driven by more aggressive CMS intervention.
The biggest culprit in the current no-growth situation is the economy. I've written about this issue before but it clearly bears repeating. In a down economy paying patients are more scarce than in a healthy(ier) economy. Assuming as has been the case, provider growth or supply hasn't declined substantially (if at all) during the recession to current level of stagnation; the same number of providers are chasing a lesser number of "paying" patients.
To continue reading, click here. |
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Hospice Cap: Individual Analysis Needed
To Determine Best Calculation Method
by Richard Chesney
The Medicare hospice benefit has a regulation that requires a hospice to repay excess Medicare reimbursements when its per admission expenditures in a given year exceed a predetermined hospice cap. Traditionally, Medicare has only counted patients admitted to hospice in the chosen time frame. Several hospices challenged Medicare in court about the fairness of this approach and won.
To continue, please click here |
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Study Shows that Non-Medical Home Care Reduces Healthcare Costs
Posted on the Ankota Blog By Ken Accardi
Laura Sands, a professor in the Nursing School of Purdue University, published some very interesting (although to me not surprising) information about the benefits of non-medical home care on health care costs for the elderly. In a nutshell, her study shows that elderly people who have access to the assistance of a home health aide for a couple of hours a day experience lower health care costs than those who don't have such care.
To read further, please click here. |
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WE ARE PLEASED TO ANNOUNCE A NEW SERVICE
Accreditation Commission for Health Care
Beth Carpenter and Associates is proud to announce the addition of a new service for its clients! We are now able to support your efforts to achieve accreditation through Accreditation Commission for Health Care (ACHC) whether you are a new or existing agency - home health, hospice or private duty.
To assist you in your efforts to reach and maintain deemed status for Home Health and Hospice agencies as well as accreditation as a Private Duty Nursing and/or Private Duty Aide organization, the following are a sample of potential services currently available through Beth Carpenter and Associates:
• Assistance in preparation of the ACHC Application and the Preliminary Evidence Report (PER).
• Review of your Application and PER prior to submission to ACHC.
• Assistance with any revisions to the PER requested by ACHC following initial submission.
• Training and instruction to administration and staff to prepare for an on-site ACHC survey.
• Assistance in creating a Plan of Correction, if necessary, following an on-site ACHC survey.
Subsequent to successful accreditation, we are available to work with your agency to continue compliance with the ACHC standards.
For further information, call 847-382-1035 or e-mail bcarpenter@bethcarpenterandassociates.com. |
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Beth Carpenter
Beth Carpenter and Associates 847-382-1035
bcarpenter@bethcarpenterandassociates.com
Beth Carpenter and Associates has earned a reputation as a company with deep industry experience and one that works closely with its clients to identify solutions that meet their business goals and strategic objectives. We do not simply advise. We partner with our customers to implement the solution and ensure its success.
Sincerely, Beth Carpenter |
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ARE YOU ON THE RIGHT PATH?
Since 1995 Beth Carpenter and Associates has provided its real-world experience to the management of healthcare companies, especially those organizations with a focus on home health, hospice and private duty, in the areas of operations, clinical services, sales and marketing. We work with management to identify the strategic direction of the organization and implement the necessary changes that allow health care providers to move forward in today's environment.
We help you choose the right path to success and then we walk it with you. |
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