Are you trying to stay afloat in today’s strenuous
healthcare environment? Home health is one of the most heavily regulated
industries in the United States. At this point, your agency should be preparing
for and preventing Medicare contractor audits such as ADRs, ZPICs and CERTs. Are
you prepared? How are you handling marketing, finding your niche, budget cuts
and maintaining your agency for compliance with all regulatory standards and
surveys? Are you struggling? It’s no secret that some home health agencies are
not surviving the economic downturn and the pressure of rate changes – are you
going to find yourself in this group?
One of the most important tools available to home health
agencies is outcome scoring. Outcome measures score data such as improvement in
patient functional statuses, rehospitalization rates and harm prevention.
As rate cuts continue and healthcare moves toward a
pay-for-performance reimbursement model, hospitals will be looking to create
relationships with home health agencies that have a proven record. These
records are established by outcome measures. Not only that, but patients and
their families utilize this information to make an informed decision about
which home health agency to use for care. The fact of the matter is that outcome measure data directly affects your
profit margin.
Enter Benchmarking
Plus from PPS Plus Software. Benchmarking
Plus will compare your performance metrics, such as outcome scores, to
those of other agencies and to the best practices in the industry in real time.
With immediate feedback, you are able to make improvements to ensure that your
agency provides above-average patient care while earning a profit. Monitoring
your benchmarks is the difference between the success and failure of your
agency. PPS Plus Software is here to help make the process time efficient and
easy to understand.
Benchmarking Plus
will be a robust web application for agencies. Users will be able to benchmark
agencies, clinicians, create queries and more. With both a free version and a
subscription-based version, we have something to suit the needs of every agency
and, just like our OASIS analysis software, this product has been developed by
a top-notch nursing and IT staff so you can be confident that your data is
secure, accurate and will help guarantee your success.
The bottom line is that benchmarking is not about data
manipulation; it is about knowing and understanding your data so that you can seize
opportunities to improve overall patient care, day-to-day operations and
financial success.
The beta period will begin soon for Benchmarking Plus. Be sure to check back for updates and for the date of public release.
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Some of our software clients have asked how the new security level for users, organizational administrator, differs from those that already existed.
The security allowance of each user in OASIS Analysis Plus is listed below:
Administrator – Can perform all functions, including
changing settings and deleting patients
Organizational Administrator – Able to access settings, but not able to
modify all information
Power User – Can see financial information, but can’t
change settings or delete patients
User – Can enter data and run reports, but can’t see financial information
Why would you want to identify someone as an organizational administrator? If there are many branches in an organization and they are set up to where all data resides in one central database, the administrator may not want to enter the cost settings, referral sources, etc. for every branch – he or she may prefer that each location handle its own settings. An organizational administrator should be specified in these cases. This individual is able to modify the cost, clinicians, referral sources and physicians if any need to be entered. This person also has the ability to delete data from the system. The organizational administrator will not be able to give themselves access to locations that an administrator hasn’t already given them access to, nor will this person be able to modify any user in the software with higher security settings.
To sum it up, an administrator would designate a specific user as an organizational administrator if they don’t want an individual having access to data from all agency locations in a database, but they want them to have the ability to modify data that pertains to the branches within a defined scope.
]]>Discuss venous stasis disease in this month's OASIS tip.
Click here to print this tip!
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Walk through this sample scenario to practice your coding skills.
Click here to print this tip!
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About Twitter
Twitter, a free microblogging website, was first created by a 10-person team
in San Francisco. First named “Obvious,”
Twitter has grown into one of the most successful social networking sites in
modern history with over 200-million account holders.
This article will describe how you can set up a Twitter account, develop a dedicated
following and use it to advance your agency or attract talent, praise your
employees, announce new programs at your company, etc. The possibilities are nearly endless.
People or organizations, which set up accounts on Twitter, send and receive
short messages that are 140 characters or less in length. These messages are
called tweets. The tweets are received
by anyone who is following you on your account. Followers can be friends, clients, customers or complete strangers. Received tweets can be easily re-tweeted by these
followers, tremendously expanding their potential reach. Imagine one of your followers, who has 43,000 followers themselves, re-tweeting your current job opening for a PT.
Many who are unfamiliar with Twitter may inadvertently see it as a time
waster, but those who understand its importance can easily use it to bolster
their causes, whether for business or personal gain. Tweets can be made from
mobile devices, Twitter’s website through a desktop computer, or with instant
messaging software.
Establishing a Twitter Account
In order to create a free account, navigate to https://twitter.com. Enter a real name, a currently active email
address and create a password. Once you
click the "Sign Up for Twitter" button, you will be directed to a page that asks
you to create a username. Select a username that properly represents you or your agency. My username is HHRecruiter. You may be asked to complete a Captcha that
is used to verify you are human. Once
verified, you now have a Twitter account.
Your account followers will use the account name you design as they message
about you, to you or when mentioning you to others. It also is used to form your profile page
account address. Our account address is https://twitter.com/HHRecruiter. Usernames must be fewer than 15 characters
and cannot contain ‘admin’ or ‘twitter.’
Developing Followers
Once your account is created, you need to develop a following. Developing a following will take some time, but it is easier than you might expect. In order for people to follow you, you will need to follow them. Following others is as easy as finding people through a simple search mechanism available on the Twitter website, once you are logged in to your account. You can follow up to 2000 others before Twitter warns you that you have reached your limit – that means until you have followers following you. In other words, if you follow 2000 others and no one follows you, Twitter will tell you that you’ve reached the maximum amount of followers. As others follow you, your maximum limit is extended.
To begin, let’s say you want to follow nurses and physical therapists. At the top of your Twitter login screen, there are three buttons on the left and search bar on the right.
When you click on the #Discover button, the search bar changes as shown below:
Where it says, “Enter a #hashtag or keyword," you could enter #nurse or #physicaltherapist or #pt or #rn. Once you hit enter, a screen will populate with tweets from others who have used those hashtags in their messages. A hashtag is simply a way to easily discover similar tweets from others. An example of yesterday’s hashtag search for #nurses is shown below:
Clicking on any one of those names will take you to that person or agency’s
Twitter account where you can easily follow their future tweets. You will also be able to see who they
follow, browse their followers, and
choose to follow who they follow by simply selecting the follow button by their
name. Once you start following others,
others will start following you. Sooner
than you realize, you will have an expanded followers list. You can dedicate a little time each day to
repeating this process using different hashtags until you have a substantial
following and you are following a substantial group yourself. Every tweet you produce goes directly to your
followers.
Tweeting
Tweets are simply an announcement containing less than 140 characters. In order to post a tweet, simply click the
blue square with the quill pen in it. It
will ask you, “What are you doing?” Type
in whatever you want up to 140 characters. Yesterday, one of my tweets was, “I am now hiring #OT candidates in
North Carolina. Please feel free to RT.” Note the hashtag reference, “#OT.” Using that in this tweet allows others who
search for OT tweets to simply find mine! Tweet regularly, but don’t overdo it. We tweet at least once a day, but no more than three times a day. You can tweet about anything pertinent to
your agency or cause. Followers may read
your tweets, ignore them, reply to them, forward them or re-tweet them. They are highly public, so keep that in mind when
writing them because they may find their way
into the hands of thousands of others.
In my earlier example, you see, “Please feel free to RT.” “RT” is short for re-tweet. I want my followers to send my message to
their followers, in case anyone knows any OT in North Carolina! Shortcuts are used frequently in tweets
because of the 140 character limit. You
can also tweet a URL to a website you want your followers to visit.
In our next series, we will explore how to effectively manage your
followers, understand Twitter shortcuts, using third party software to manage
your Twitter accounts and discover useful Twitter website tools.
Happy tweeting, and don’t forget to follow me: https://twitter.com/hhrecruiter!
©2012 David Chilcote II. All rights reserved.
About the Author:
David Chilcote II is a Master’s prepared Social Worker who
obtained dual Bachelor’s degrees in Psychology and Marriage Counseling in 1979
from Anderson College (now Anderson University) in Anderson, IN. He pursued and
obtained his Master’s Degree in Social Work from Indiana University in 1983.
His career path has varied vastly since his degrees, holding
positions as a substance abuse counselor, psychiatric counselor, adult
psychiatric day care manager, director of inpatient and outpatient substance
abuse programs, private practitioner, inpatient psychiatric social worker, author,
public speaker, director of two certified home health companies and now,
current owner/operator of HomeHealthRecruiter.com, Inc.
David is also a published author. His book, Help Me Help Myself, is sold as an Ebook
via healingebooks.com, barnesandnoble.com, ebookstore.sony.com,
itunes.apple.com and kobobooks.com, among others.
David is married to his long-ago sweetheart from 1979, Kathleen, and currently resides in Naples, FL about three blocks from the Gulf of Mexico. He is a father, step-father and grandfather.
]]>ICD-9 Code Usage Report
The ICD-9 Code Usage Report helps to identify which codes are being utilized most often in your agency. It also informs you of the number of patients that have a specific code as either a primary or secondary diagnosis. This can help to determine if there is a trend or over-utilization of a particular code within your agency.
There are different filters that can be applied for more detailed reporting. Some of these filters allow you to specify an individual clinician, ICD codes, HIPPS codes, diagnosis types, assessment types and even payment statuses such as outliers and LUPA cases just to name a few.
]]>Walk through this sample scenario to practice your coding skills.
Click here to print this tip!
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Discuss M1810 and M1820 (the patient’s ability to safely dress their upper and lower body) in this month's OASIS tip.
Click here to print this tip!
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Many home care agencies strive for and claim they have excellent services, but rarely do we ever hear a home care agency talk about a culture of excellence - one that sets them apart from other home care agencies. This discussion is essential for home health leadership. To better understand how to create a culture of excellence, we must first understand the two elements: culture and excellence.
What is organizational culture and why should it be of any concern for the
busy home health executive? We go into many agencies that are self described as
in a state of chaos or decline and are desperately in need of major change to
correct the direction of the agency. We find the best laid plans fail because
the culture of the organization does not support the changes being made.
Understanding organizational culture helps us better understand this conflict.
Gareth Morgan describes organizational culture as: “The set of beliefs,
values, and norms, together with symbols like dramatized events and
personalities that represents the unique character of an organization, and
provides the context for action in it and by it.” Beliefs and values are
words that will pop up in other definitions, as well. Norms are described as traditions,
structure of authority, or routines.” (From AdChoices)
Beliefs, values and norms are very powerful forces in a home health agency.
How do beliefs, values, and norms originate? And, how do you change them if
they are contrary to where the home care agency needs to go? Unlike creativity
and entrepreneurial attributes, which are randomly spread throughout an agency,
culture is created and sustained by the home health agency leader.
Culture starts at the top. If you, the home health executive, want to create
a culture of excellence, you must first look at yourself. As an executive, this
was the hardest thing I ever had to do! Yet, as it turns out, it has been and
continues to be the greatest gift I have given to myself and those with whom I
work. Ask yourself, “If I was one of my employees, would I like working
with me? Why or why not? The answers may surprise you. They did for me.
As a home health leader who creates a culture of excellence, you must
inspire trust, safety, enthusiasm, appreciation, respect, inspiration and
acceptance. How to gain this is the hardest and longest process of all. To
begin this process, ask yourself the following:
~ Have I ever worked in an organization where I felt trust, safety,
enthusiasm, appreciation, respect, inspiration and acceptance? Who was the
leader? What were the traits they exemplified that lead to my feeling of joy in
the organization? (I do not use the word joy lightly. People working in a
culture of excellence have a feeling of joy in their jobs.) Make a list of all
the attributes you appreciate in that leader.
~ What were their behaviors? How did these behaviors make you feel? List
those as well. Be as detailed as you can be as this will help you model the
behavior you want to emulate.
Excellence is the result of culture and a concerted effort to reward and
honor the efforts and outcomes of all the individuals in the home health
agency. Excellence is meeting and exceeding the expectations of your customer.
Do you know who your customers are? Do you know their expectations of you and
your staff? To shape a culture of excellence, everyone in the home care agency
must have a clear idea of who are their customers… This includes the
individuals we care for, their families, and the friends and neighbors involved
in their life… Also included in the definition of the customer are all the
individuals that refer potential clients to your home care agency. And, we
can’t forget all your employees are customers to you and to each other.
Multiple research projects have been conducted on staff retention. The top ten
reasons cited for why employees remain loyal to their companies are:
- Exciting work and challenge
- Career growth, learning and development
- Working with great people
- Fair pay
- Supportive management/good boss
- Being recognized, valued and respected
- Benefits
- Meaningful work and making a difference
- Pride in the organization, its mission and its products
- Great work environment and culture
A culture that nurtures excellence stimulates what employee’s value about
their organizations. An organization that fulfills all the ten listed values is
an organization that has a culture of excellence. To build that culture of
excellence, it starts with the top.
While all of the customer elements are important, the one most often missed, and the most critical for building a culture of excellence, is everyone involved within your home care agency is a customer of each other. If you are ready to create a home care agency with a culture of excellence, Kenyon HomeCare Consulting has a long history of assisting agencies to achieve excellence. We can be reached by e-mailing gkenyon@kenyonhcc.com or calling 206-721-5091.
©2012 Ginny Kenyon. All rights reserved.
About the Author:
Ginny Kenyon, Founder and CEO of Kenyon HomeCare Consulting, is passionate about helping clients achieve unique success in the marketplace. Known for her ability to produce substantial results in a short period of time, her keen understanding of the home care industry allows clients to develop and implement long-term solutions that fit organizational needs and expectations. She holds a Masters in Nursing Administration with minors in Business and Health Services and is an accomplished writer, guest speaker, and teacher. If you are considering starting up a home health, hospice or private pay agency and need some assistance, Kenyon HomeCare Consulting can provide the guidance and assistance needed to start it right. Click here to contact Kenyon HomeCare Consulting.
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Don’t forget that it is very important to import all assessment types into PPS Plus, including transfers and discharges. Transfer and discharge assessments have an OASIS Analysis Report that checks documentation that is specific to those types of assessments. Our software also compares some answers on transfer and discharge assessments with previous assessments to make sure that they are consistent.
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