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Cabinet for Health & Family Services
Office of Inspector General
Division of Health Care
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Home Health Agency Newsletter
May 2019
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Juniper VPN Network Client Upgrade
An upgrade is required to the Juniper VPN Network Client software (Network Connect Client) currently used by the QIES community to log into CMSNet for required submission and reporting. The upgrade for Home Health providers will occur on 05/30/2019. This will effect employees who use CMSNet for OASIS.
Upgrade Details
Users must have Administrator rights on their workstations or have an IT staff member with Administrator rights available to complete the upgrade. The upgrade will be initiated automatically when users launch the Juniper VPN Client beginning on 05/30/2019. Upon connection, the automated process will begin and users will be prompted to start the installation of the new Pulse Secure Desktop Client on their workstations.
For questions or assistance, please contact the CMSNet Help Desk at 888-238-2122.
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OASIS Changes Effective January 1, 2020
A revised version of the memorandum containing details about the changes to OASIS effective January 1, 2020 is available in the Downloads section of the
OASIS User Manuals
site. The memorandum was updated from the previous version that was posted to include detail addressing the transition to the Patient-Driven Groupings Model.
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Home Health Compare Quarterly Refresh
The April 2019 quarterly Home Health (HH) Compare refresh is now available on the
Home Health Compare
website. Please visit to view the new and updated quality data.
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Spotlights and Announcements
Policy Change for Assessment Submission Timeframe
The current CMS policy for submission of patient assessment records allows providers to submit records for up to 36 months from the assessment target date. Effective October 1, 2019, the CMS policy for patient assessment submission will be changed to 24 months from the assessment target date. The policy change applies to new, modified, and inactivated records.
Updated Quarterly OASIS Q&As
OASIS-D All Items instrument, effective January 1, 2020 and OASIS-D Follow-up (FU) time point instrument, effective January 1, 2020
A memorandum containing details about the changes to OASIS, effective January 1, 2020
Revised versions of the OASIS-D All Items instrument and the Follow-up (FU) time point instrument are available. The original OASIS-D versions for all other time points remain in effect as of January 1, 2020. The revised All Items and Follow-Up instruments with the remaining OASIS-D time point versions are available together in a zip file in the Download section on the
OASIS Data Sets
webpage.
The memorandum containing details about the changes to OASIS effective January 1, 2020 is available on the
OASIS User Manuals
webpage, in the Downloads section.
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Post-Training Materials Available – March 2019
Post-training materials (includes answers to knowledge checks and interactive exercises) for the Home Health Quality Reporting Program (QRP) Provider Training held on March 5 and 6, 2019, are now available in the Downloads section at the bottom of the
Home Health Quality Reporting Training
webpage.
Also available in the Downloads section of this webpage is a question and answer (Q+A) document containing responses to questions submitted by providers during the event.
CLICK HERE
to access video recordings of presentations.
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Kentucky Annual Utilization Surveys
The Kentucky Annual Utilization Surveys were due on March 15, 2019. All licensed Home Health Agenices are required to report. To be in compliance with your license, an extension needs to be requested and data submitted. The reporting of this data is required by 902 KAR 20:008 and 900 KAR 5:020.
Any request for an extension of the deadline must go through Elizabeth Tutt, Survey Administrator and Healthcare Data Analyst. You may contact her by
email
or by calling (502) 564-7940 x3156.
CLICK HERE
for the website for the survey completion. The facility license number is the login and facilities should create their own password the first time they log in each year.
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Interested in Serving on an IDR Panel?
Kentucky requires one member of the IDR panel to be "a person currently engaged in the provision of Home Health Agency services who has no affiliation with the provider disputing a deficiency." Typically, a Home Health Agency Director is on each IDR panel. There is no payment or travel reimbursement for a Director serving on a panel. Directors will be rotated. If a
Home Health Agency Director
is interested in serving on a panel, a confidentiality statement must be signed prior to the participation in the first IDR panel.
Chrystal Daugherty, IDR/IIDR Coordinator
Office of Inspector General
116 Commerce Ave.
London, KY 40744
Fax: (606) 330-2054
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Home Health Agency Questions and Answers
Home Health Agency (HHA) Providers can access the Home Health and OASIS Q&As and other reference manuals on the
HHA Providers Reference site
.
These Questions and their responses have been developed over many years of experience training OASIS coordinators and are currently used as part of the Home Health Agency Surveyor Training program. They can and should be used by home health agency providers in training new staff on the basics of OASIS and also as a refresher for existing staff.
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OASIS Answers, Inc.
is a team of experienced nursing and therapy professionals who concentrate their skills, experience and passion to meet the needs of clients at the state association, federal government, quality improvement organization, private industry, and individual provider levels.
Click here
for the latest information on their webinars.
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OASIS CONTACT INFORMATION
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Chrystal Daugherty
Assessment/Coding Questions
Rhonda Littleton-Roe
Transmission or Technical Questions
Michelle Ryan
HHA Licensing or Regulation Questions
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Please note:
Do not send any identifiable patient information through e-mail. This includes patient names, SSNs, dates of birth or any other data items considered identifiers or Protected Health Information (PHI) under HIPAA. Please redact any PHI prior to sending.
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OASIS Data Specifications
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KARES
To enroll in KARES voluntarily, please click the icon above and follow the self-directed enrollment process.
For additional information about the program, please contact the help desk at (502)564-2159 or
via email
.
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Click here
to visit the website or
click here
for guidance on how to verify and update home health demographic data.
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Reporting Complaints
Email addresses have been established for use by patients and the general public to report possible violations of regulatory requirements.
Click Here
for the email addresses and additional contact information based on the facility's location.
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Which Branch
is Serving You?
To provide the highest level of service, the Division of Health Care operates through four regional offices. Knowing the appropriate Branch to contact with questions and concerns will ensure you receive maximum service in minimum time. Review links below for detailed information.
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CMS Survey and Certification memoranda, guidance, clarifications and instructions to State Survey Agencies and CMS Regional Offices.
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Medicare Learning Network
Let the Medicare Learning Network (MLN) be your home for Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) education, information, and resources.
Visit the
Medicare Learning Network
for free educational materials for health care professionals on CMS programs, policies, and initiatives.
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ISTW: Integrated Surveyor Training Website
This CMS website provides training information to include the preceptor manual, the State Operations Manual and other documents. As always, the survey and certification process is a collaborative effort between CMS and providers. This website will allow providers the opportunity to take the same courses as surveyors.
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Want to Know the Top 10 Citations for Home Health Agencies?
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Sign Up for This Newsletter
If you have received a copy of this newsletter from a friend or co-worker, you can click on the Sign Up button to enter your information and join our mailing list.
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Employment Opportunities
To search and apply for positions within the Office of Inspector General, please visit the Kentucky Personnel Cabinet's web page by clicking the sign above.
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DHC Leadership Team:
Inspector General
V
acant
Deputy Inspector General
Director
Assistant Director
Assistant Director
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Commonwealth of Kentucky | Office of Inspector General | 275 East Main St., Frankfort, KY 40621
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The Office of Inspector General is the regulatory and licensing agency for all health care, day care and long-term care facilities and child adoption/child-placing agencies in the commonwealth.
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