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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
July 2019
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Enhanced Assessment Submission & Processing System/User Tool for Home Health Providers for January 1, 2020
In January 2020, Home Health Agencies will have access to a new patient assessment upload and reporting interface that will replace the current Assessment Submission & Processing (ASAP) and the Certification and Survey Provider Enhanced Reports (CASPER) submission and reporting systems. This release will also include the ability for HHA providers and vendors to create assessments in iQIES, replacing the jHAVEN user tool. In addition, this release will include survey and certification functionality for HHAs.
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OASIS Data Sets and Specifications
Revised versions of the OASIS-D All Items instrument and the Follow-up (FU) time point instrument are available. These versions are effective January 1, 2020. 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, below. A memorandum containing details about the changes to OASIS effective January 1, 2020 is available on the
OASIS User Manuals webpage
.
A specifications document providing technical details for OASIS-D1, effective January 1, 2020, is available in the Downloads section of the
Data Specifications website
. These specifications supplement the information provided in the OASIS-D1 Update memorandum revised and posted May 2019 on the
OASIS User Manuals site
.
Final technical specifications for OASIS-D1 will be posted once they are available.
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Preview Reports and Star Rating Preview Reports for October 2019 Refresh - Delay in Posting
Preview Reports and Star Rating Preview Reports for the October 2019 Home Health Compare Refresh will be delayed until early July 2019. This delay is the result of our efforts to align the display of two Home Health Quality Reporting Program measures with the display in the compare sites for other postacute care settings. As of October 2019, the measures Discharge to Community and Potentially Preventable Readmissions will include point estimates and confidence intervals, in addition to categorical data. CMS will keep the home health agency community informed with updates on the timeline for the release of the review reports.
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OASIS-D Coding Tips
M1060 Height and Weight
Completed at Start of Care (SOC) and Resumption of Care (ROC)
- Obtain patient's height and weight in accordance with your agency's policy and procedures
- Use mathematical rounding (If the patient's weight is X.5 or less, round down to the nearest whole number. If the patient's weight is X.5 or more, round up to nearest whole number)
- Only enter height and weight from data that has been directly obtained by agency staff
- DO NOT enter data that is self-reported or derived from documentation from another provider source (i.e. referral source)
----------Use of dashes----------
If a patient cannot be weighted due to extreme pain, immobility, or risk of pathological fractures, use a dash (-) and document the rationale in the patient's medical record
Remember….A dash is a valid response; however, CMS expects dash use to be a rare occurrence.
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Home Health Quality Measures
Publication of Potentially Preventable Readmission Measures for the Post-Acute Care Quality Reporting Programs (QRPs)
Beginning fall 2019, CMS will publicly display measure results on the Home Health Compare website for the Potentially Preventable 30-Day Post-Discharge Readmissions measure adopted for the Home Health (HH) Quality Reporting Program (QRP). The publishing of this measure was postponed in late 2018 to allow more testing to ensure it provides a reliable, accurate picture of provider performance on quality, in line with CMS’s Meaningful Measures Initiative to address high-priority areas for quality measurement with measures that will help improve patient outcomes while minimizing provider burden. The additional testing has been completed.
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Updated Section GG Web-based Training Course
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is offering a web-based training course on how to properly code of Section GG. This 45-minute course is intended for providers in the following care settings: Skilled Nursing Facilities (SNFs), Long-Term Care Hospitals (LTCHs), Inpatient Rehabilitation Facilities (IRFs), and Home Health Agencies (HHAs); and is designed to be used on demand anywhere you can access a browser. The course is divided into the following four lessons and includes interactive exercises that allow you to test your knowledge in real life scenarios:
- Lesson 1: Importance of Section GG for Post-Acute Care
- Lesson 2: Section GG Assessment and Coding Principles
- Lesson 3: Coding GG0130.Self-Care Items
- Lesson 4: Coding GG0170.Mobility Items
If you have technical questions or feedback regarding the training, please email the
PAC Training mailbox
. Content-related questions should be submitted to the Quality Reporting Program Help Desk for your care setting.
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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
Sam Crossfield
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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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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