Is Your Case Mix Weight Showing You the Money?
Posted on July 07, 2010 in Coding Education Software
by Jennifer Warfield, RN, BSN, HCS-D, COS-C
As PPS Plus Software's education director, I often speak to agencies that are frustrated with the decrease in their average case mix weight since the implementation of OASIS-C. So why is this a problem? Well, a decrease in case mix weight is ultimately going to result in a decrease in reimbursement. And loss of reimbursement in conjunction with recent proposed Medicare cuts can have a severe impact on an agency's financial status.
Agencies can take these proactive measures to ensure OASIS accuracy which will then result in financial accuracy:
1.) Implement in-depth and ongoing training for field and office staff on OASIS-C, as CMS frequently gives us new guidance or clarifications
2.) Develop a QA/PI program that includes software that allows you to check for coding or OASIS errors and/or inconsistencies
Training is the easy part. Assuring coding and OASIS accuracy can be a bit more challenging unless you have dedicated staff that will review EVERY OASIS with a fine-toothed comb. Finding the expert staff to do this job is hard enough, not to mention the time involved to accomplish this effectively (as we all know, gathering all of the needed information and making all the necessary changes to just one OASIS can take up valuable man hours).
That's why I (and everyone else here at PPS Plus Software) was so pleased to be informed that the proof of our software's effectiveness is in the pudding (or should I say ‘in the program'?) according to a recent article featured in DecisionHealth's weekly publication, Home Health Line.
In the article, Sharon Snider, director of Nason Hospital Home Health Agency in Roaring Spring, Pa., credits PPS Plus Software's Home Health Edition for helping to not only increase her agency's average case mix weight, but also her agency's revenue by an average of $900 per patient (while also dramatically decreasing the average time her staff previously spent reviewing the OASIS)!
Click here to read the article.
Home Health Line is the nation's leading independent authority on home health care business, regulation and reimbursement. Click here to subscribe to Home Health Line.
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