UPDATE Weekly

Providers will not need to split Medicaid prior approvals (PAs) over the ICD-10 transition date of October 1, 2015 in the same way you will need to split claims. NCTracks regrets any confusion from previous postings and they are delighted this will be easier than previously reported.

Medicaid PAs that span October 1st do not need to be split. If you have an approved PA request with a begin date before October 1st and an end date on or after October 1st, no action is required. It is possible for a claim to be submitted after October 1st with an ICD-10 code and the PA to be approved with an ICD-9 code.

The ICD-10 transition will not affect PAs because the diagnosis codes on PAs are not used to adjudicate claims. Instead, PAs are used by clinicians to see if the service to be provided is appropriate for the diagnosis.

Therefore, most PAs that span October 1st do not need to be split. However, claims submitted for services rendered on or after October 1st must use ICD-10 codes.

All PA requests submitted to NCTracks on or after October 1st should use ICD-10 codes. Retroactive requests for PA for dates of service before October 1st should use ICD-9 codes.

For more information on this transition process, click here.

[Return to top]

Make plans today to join your colleagues for the fourth annual NCHCFA Summer Symposium. The three-day event will be August 26-28, 2015 at the Embassy Suites Resort at Kingston Plantation, Myrtle Beach, SC. Call the Embassy Suites Resort at (800) 876-0010 to reserve your overnight room. Use group code “HCF” to identify yourself as a NC Health Care Facilities Association Convention attendee! To make your reservation on-line, visit http://tinyurl.com/2015symposiumroomblock.

Please call the Association office at (919) 782-3827 with any questions. Brochures will be mailed to members in June! To view the 2015 Schedule at a Glance, click here!

[Return to top]

We are excited about the number of nursing homes that have decided to participate in the Alliant Quality National Nursing Home Quality Care Collaborative (NNHQCC). Alliant Quality would like to invite each of you to attend a brief (30-minute) SPACE- Kick-Off Session in June. If you have not already completed a participation agreement and do not want to be left out, please complete the agreement and return to nancy.fendler@alliantquality.org.

There are four opportunities, please click on the dates below to register.

Wednesday, June 3, 2015:

• Quality Net Meeting Invite Participant June 3, 10:00 AM-10:30 AM
• Quality Net Meeting Invite Participant June 3, 2:00 PM-2:30 PM

Thursday, June 4, 2015:

• Quality Net Meeting Invite Participant June 4, 10:00 AM- 10:30 AM
• Quality Net Meeting Invite Participant June 4, 2:00 PM-2:30 PM

ABOUT ALLIANT QUALITY
Alliant Quality is the Medicare Quality Innovation Network (QIN)-Quality Improvement Organization (QIO) for North Carolina. Under contract with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), Alliant Quality invites your nursing home to participate in a collaborative designed to ensure that every nursing home resident receives the highest quality of care. Specifically, the Nursing Home Quality Care Collaborative (NNHQCC) will strive to instill quality and performance improvement practices, eliminate healthcare acquired conditions, and dramatically improve resident satisfaction.

The Collaborative offers an exciting opportunity to learn from high performing nursing homes regarding their processes as they pertain to consistent/permanent staff assignment, teamwork and communications, leadership, regulatory compliance, clinical models, and quality of life indicators. The Collaborative aligns national nursing home quality initiatives and partnerships such as the Advancing Excellence in America’s Nursing Homes Campaign, The Partnership to Improve Dementia Care, and Quality Assurance Performance Improvement (QAPI). Targeted focus areas will include increasing mobility, decreasing unnecessary use of antipsychotics in residents with dementia, decreasing potentially avoidable hospitalizations and decreasing healthcare acquired infections and conditions.

WHO SHOULD ATTEND
Participants in the Alliant Quality National Nursing Home Quality Care Collaborative (NNHQCC) ~ Southern Partners Action Collaborative for Excellence (SPACE)

If you are ready to register, click here for the Participation Agreement and fax or e-mail it back to Nancy Fendler. For more details, e-mail Nancy at nancy.fendler@alliantquality.org or reach out to her at (678) 527-3679.

[Return to top]

ICD-10 coding will be implemented in just months. Is your facility ready for the transition? Nationally recognized coding expert Karen Fabrizio, RHIA, CHTS-CP, CPRA, AHIMA, Approved ICD-10-CM/PCS Trainer, will help you train with her new, comprehensive ICD-10 coding training manual. Specific to long-term care, this manual gives detailed coding training and how-to guidance for the top diagnoses in the long-term care setting. ICD-10 is a complex new coding set, so it is crucial your facility is prepared.

This book provides:

• In-depth coding how-to for the most commonly documented diagnoses in the long-term care setting
• Guidance on how to properly document and code in ICD-10 to ensure appropriate coding on claims
• Quiz questions, examples, and sample scenarios to help train staff
• A detailed understanding of how long-term care providers in particular can best conquer ICD-10 complexities
• “How to” chapters that focus on each diagnostic area

To order, visit http://www.AHCApublications.org or call (800) 321-0343.

Product #8347
AHCA MEMBERS $149.00

[Return to top]

Important information for residents and families… This brochure outlines what physical restraints are, when they should be used, rules and regulations concerning restraints, and making decisions about using them. To order, e-mail your request to Amy Suggs at amys@nchcfa.org.

• NCHCFA Member: $30.00 per 100 brochures plus tax and shipping
• Non-Members: $60.00 per 100 brochures plus tax and shipping

[Return to top]

Elder Abuse A ‘Huge, Expensive And Lethal’ Problem For States

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/05/26/elder-abuse_n_7443108.html

[Return to top]

In 2011, Jennifer Pharr set a record for the fastest hike of the Appalachian Trail, 46 days, 11 hours and 20 minutes. During her record-setting trek, she went through 5 pairs of shoes.

[Return to top]