You're receiving this email because of your relationship with the Office of Inspector General, Division of Health Care. Thank you for your continued commitment to serving the citizens of our Commonwealth!
Cabinet for Health & Family Services
Office of Inspector General
Division of Health Care
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Home Health Agency Newsletter
February 2020
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NEW TRAINING EVENT
Upcoming PAC QRP Requirements and FY 2020 Training Resources
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is offering a quick web-based training to walk providers through upcoming changes to the Quality Reporting Programs (QRPs) for the following post-acute care settings along with an overview of existing and upcoming training activities designed to support providers in successfully complying with associated reporting requirements:
- Home Health
- Inpatient Rehabilitation Facility (IRF)
- Long-Term Care Hospital (LTCH)
- Skilled Nursing Facility (SNF)
This web-based training will:
- Demonstrate how the quality measures used in the Home Health, IRF, LTCH, and SNF QRPs tie to CMS’ Meaningful Measures Initiative;
- Provide a detailed list of data elements that have already been incorporated into the post-acute care QRPs along with those being implemented in the IRF, LTCH, and SNF care settings on October 1, 2020, and the Home Health care setting on January 1, 2021;
- Provide links to training resources to support providers in implementing existing reporting requirements associated with the QRPs; and
- Offer a preview of upcoming training activities to support the implementation of new reporting requirements, including dates, so that providers can begin to plan to incorporate these important training events into their busy schedules.
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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Revised Guide to Home Health Help Desks
A revised version of the comprehensive 1-page guide to Home Health help desks is now available in the downloads section of the Home Health Quality Reporting Program Help Desk
webpage
. Updated email contact information for the iQIES help desk is provided. This document provides guidance to home health providers for questions related to a variety of topics.
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CALENDAR YEAR (CY)2021 and CY2022 Quick
Reference Guides Available
Quick Reference Guides for CY2021 and CY2022 are now available in the Downloads section of the
Home Health Quality Reporting Requirements webpage
. The Quick Reference Guides provide high-level information on the Home Health Quality Reporting Program, including frequently asked questions and helpful links.
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Home Health Compare Quarterly Refresh - January 2020
The January 2020 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. Please note as of this refresh, CMS is no longer publically reporting two claims-based measures: Emergency Department Use without Hospital Readmission during the First 30 Days of HH (NQF #2505) and Rehospitalization during the First 30 Days of Home Health (NQF #2380).
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Updated Quarterly OASIS Q&As
January 2020 OASIS Q&A's are available in the OASIS Quarterly Q&As section of the CMS
QTSO
webpage.
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Kentucky Health Survey Registry
(Annual Utilization Surveys)
The Kentucky Annual Utilization Surveys are being released on January 30, 2020. The deadline has been extended March 30, 2020. The delay is due to system and security upgrades. All licensed Long Term Care facilities and Home Health providers are required to report. These include Nursing Facility, Personal Care, Nursing Home, Alzheimer, Intermediate Care and ICF/IID beds. Additionally, MRI, PET, Megavoltage Radiation, Hospice, Hospital, Chemical Dependency and Psychiatric Residential Treatment Facility, services are required to report. Reporting of the data is required by 900 KAR 6:125.
Any request for an extension of the deadline must go through Elizabeth Tutt, Survey Administrator and Heatlhcare Data Analyst. You may contact her by
email
or by calling (502) 564-7940 Ext. 3156. For survey completion go to
https://prdweb.chfs.ky.gov/OHPSurvey/
to submit data. The facility license number is the login and the facilities should create their own password the first time they log in each year.
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OASIS Answers Home Health Training Webinars
The OASIS Answers, Inc. (OAI) "Just in Time" monthly home health training webinars are designed to provide the most innovative training to your clinicians, clinical leaders, quality improvement teams and auditors. These sessions will ensure that you are aware of and know how to apply the most recent, most relevant, and most accurate CMS home health information. Monthly topics are based on the issues that are most pertinent to agencies for the month and will be driven by CMS updates or changes that are critical to agency success.
Upcoming sessions are available in either a Live or Recorded format. Previously aired webinars are offered as a recording only. Take a peek and see how the OASIS Answers' webinar series can supplement your organization's training!
Click
HERE
for to reserve your spot!
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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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QSEP: Quality, Safety & Education Portal
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Quality, Safety & Oversight Group (QSOG) Quality, Safety & Education Division launched the
Quality, Safety & Education Portal (QSEP)
on January 6, 2020. QSEP is a replacement of the Integrated Surveyor Training Website (ISTW), providing a user-centered, self-service training portal that makes it easier than ever to take control of surveyor training via training plans and improved reporting.
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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
Vacant
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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