HomeTown Health Announces Enrollment Opening for "Countdown to PDPM" Program for CAH and PPS Hospital Participation
"There are major elements that must be completed timely or your program will suffer," shares expert trainer Kerry Dunning.
CUMMING, Ga., June 13, 2019 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- HomeTown Health, LLC is proud to announce the kickoff of it's "Countdown to PDPM" Program - launching in June 2019 for all interested healthcare facilities impacting by the October 1, 2019 implementation of the Patient Driven Payment Model.
The Patient Driven Payment Model (PDPM) represents the most significant change to the skilled nursing industry (including swing beds) in 20 years: and it begins October 1, 2019. It will be the new Prospective Payment System (PPS), the Medicare reimbursement standard for a short stay (100 days or less). "Patient Driven" points to a significant change in direction for expected "patient-centered" outcomes for the skilled nursing industry. PDPM bases reimbursement (and thus clinical care and documentation) on patient characteristics, rather than the measure of patient utilization found under the current RUG (Resource Utilization Group) system. To be ready for both clinical and financial outcomes, SNFs, SNUs, and Swing Bed programs must understand the requirements of the model requirements.
"There are major elements that must be completed timely or your program will suffer," shares expert trainer Kerry Dunning. "This is the biggest thing to happen to us related to reimbursement, and it also affects so many other aspects of care, protocols and documentation. It is imperative that programs begin now to make adjustments and be fully informed before October 1."
The Countdown Program: This monthly webinar series will help to prepare SNFs, SNUs, and hospitals through the transition process of requisite education and modifications necessary to comply with the PDPM system which begins October 1, 2019. Kerry Dunning and her team of experts will walk participating organizations through a PDPM Transition Action Plan over the course of 5 pre-launch webinars, as well as host two post-launch follow up webinars as check-ins. Participants will also have access to technical support for individual assistance.
Who should participate? PDPM is just the start to three years of change; CMS' most extensive changes in the last 20 years. This overhaul of the payment system will be impactful for Skilled Nursing Facilities including rural and/or rural hospital owned as well as both PPS and CAH swing bed programs in the areas of quality measures, staffing directives, functional gain measures, and person-centered care. This most immediate need for training on the new payment model directly determines financial and clinical success for PPS hospital swing beds, and will overhaul SNF Medicare reimbursement to replace the RUG system. Because of the redirection of these changes, it will be equally important that CAH swing bed programs make adjustments – to services, documentation, policies and procedures, coding and discharge planning. While CAH Swing Beds will not be reimbursed under PDPM, Medicare intent for swing beds has always been demonstrated through the item sets on the MDS and the accompanying definitions in the RAI Manual. Therefore this program encourages participation by Critical Access Hospital swing bed program leaders for the first three webinars. Any Hospital Administration/C-Suite with Swing Bed Programs or Nursing Homes, Nursing Home Administrators, DONs, Swing Bed Coordinators, MDS Coordinators, Coding/Billing Leadership, Ancillary Leadership (Lab, Radiology, etc.), and Medicare/Charge Nurses, are encouraged to participate in this important training.
"HomeTown Health has proudly offered timely and relevant education based on industry changes for its entire history as a company, and we are excited to be offering a much needed, easy to access education program to prepare for the PDPM implementation," says COO Kristy Thomson. "Our goal is to help ensure that your facility is well-educated, well-prepared and in contact with the information and experts to easily handle this transition in the fall."
Learn more about the program at https://hthu.net/pdpminfo/. Hospitals, Skilled Nursing Facilities, Skilled Nursing Units, Swing Bed Programs, and other healthcare facilities or departments can enroll to participate in the program by completing the online registration form by June 14th, or as soon as possible, to ensure full access to all program features and resources. A kickoff webinar recording is available to watch on-demand to learn more about the specifics of the program offerings.
This program is partially funded in cooperation with the State Office of Rural Health of Georgia and the Iowa Department of Public Health.
About HomeTown Health:
HomeTown Health, LLC, celebrating its 20th Anniversary this year, serves more than 70 hospitals throughout the Southeastern United States, as well as over 150 facilities nationwide. HomeTown Health, LLC offers advocacy, education, business partner service indexing, industry conferences, and strategic support to its member hospitals as well as expansive grant-based resources through key partnerships with the Department of Public Health and Department of Community Health in many states. In 2017, HomeTown Health was awarded the Exemplar Training Organization award from IACET for its excellence in educational provision.
SOURCE HomeTown Health, LLC