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
August 2021
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The Kentucky Office of Inspector General is committed to the protection of patients and residents of healthcare facilities from the spread of infectious disease. Regarding any coronavirus (COVID-19) concerns, you may refer to the following website for the most up-to-date news and information:
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Home Health Quality Reporting Program – OASIS Interim
Guidance Webinar (Advanced Webinar)
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has developed a new training for Home Health providers intended to highlight some significant OASIS guidance refinements that are available in recent Quarterly Q&A releases.
Please note that this webinar is NOT intended to provide basic or comprehensive OASIS training. Listeners are expected to have foundational knowledge in OASIS data collection and guidelines. The link to the recording of this webinar and handout material is available on the Home Health Quality Reporting Program Training page.
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Fiscal Year 2022 Hospice Wage Index and Payment Rate Update, Hospice Conditions of Participation Updates, Hospice Quality Reporting Program Requirements, and Home Health Quality Reporting Program Final Rule CMS-1754-F
On July 29, 2021 the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a final rule (CMS-1754-F) that provided updates to and finalized proposals for fiscal year (FY) 2022 Hospice Quality Reporting Program (HQRP). This rule includes finalizations for changes to the Home Health Quality Reporting Program beginning with January 2022 to address exceptions related to the COVID-19 public health emergency. We included Home Health in this rule because we will resume public reporting for the HH QRP with the January 2022 refresh of Care Compare. In order to accommodate the exception of 2020 Q1 and Q2 data, we finalized the resumption of public reporting using 3 out of 4 quarters of data for the January 2022 refresh. In order to complete this proposal in time to release the required preview report related to the refresh, which we release 3 months prior to any given refresh (Oct. 2021), we needed the rule containing this proposal to finalize by October 2021.
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July 2021 Quarterly Refresh for the Home Health
Quality Reporting Program
The July 2021 refresh is now available on Care Compare, the streamlined redesign of eight former CMS healthcare compare tools on Medicare.gov, including Home Health Compare. Five OASIS-based measures were removed from Care Compare:
- Depression Assessment Conducted
- Diabetic Foot Care and Patient/Caregiver Education Implemented during All Episodes of Care
- Multifactor Fall Risk Assessment Conducted for All Patients Who Can Ambulate
- Pneumococcal Polysaccharide Vaccine Ever Receive
- Improvement in the Status of Surgical Wounds
In addition, we have updated demographic information for several home health agencies.
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Updated Quarterly OASIS Q&As
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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 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 |
For questions regarding OASIS Assessment, Coding, Transmission or Technical Issues,
For questions regarding HHA Licensing or Regulations,
contact Rose Thompson via e-mail.
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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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Quality, Safety & Education Portal
CMS's QSEP provides the full curriculum of surveyor training and guidance on health care facility regulations. All training is available on-demand on a top-notch self-service portal. 24/7 access means you have the freedom to learn what you want, where you want, when you want.
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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
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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