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ARCHIVES - 2006 NEWS
HHS OIG FY 2006 Work Plan
The Office of Inspector General (OIG) has released their work plan for 2006. As stated on their website:
The OlG Work Plan sets forth various projects to be addressed during the fiscal year by the Office of Audit Services, Office of Evaluation and Inspections, Office of Investigations, and Office of Counsel to the Inspector General. The Work Plan includes projects planned in each of the Department's major entities: the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services; the public health agencies; and the Administrations for Children, Families, and Aging. Information is also provided on projects related to issues that cut across departmental programs, including State and local government use of Federal funds, as well as the functional areas of the Office of the Secretary. Some of the projects described in the Work Plan are statutorily required, such as the audit of the Department's financial statements, which is mandated by the Government Management Reform Act.
The OIG does not provide additional details on jobs to be undertaken or information on the status of jobs contained in its Work Plan. Additionally, because of changing workloads, the OIG is not able to provide an estimated issue date for a specific report.
Wound care and additional projects are proposed within the Work Plan:
Wound Care
- Medical necessity of physician services for wound care;
- Services billed in accordance with Medicare regulations;
- Review of the controls to prevent inappropriate payment for wound care; and
- Medical necessity of durable medical equipment such as wound care equipment and supplies.
Additional projects proposed in Work Plan
In addition to wound care, the work plan addresses many issues that will affect all levels of provided healthcare. These are just some of the highlighted issues with new starts in 2006:
- Prescription Drug Plan, Medicare Part D
- Payment related to inpatient specialty services such as rehabilitation, psychiatric, long term care hospitals and new technologies
- Review of Certification Deficiencies for Medicare Home Health Agency Surveys
- Medicare Nursing Homes will face reviews related to care planning, MDS assessments, medical necessity of imaging and laboratory services, and prescription drug plan formularies
- Physician payment for Initial Preventive Physical Examination to Medicare beneficiaries
- Medical Necessity determination for durable medical equipment such as power wheelchairs, wound care equipment and supplies and glucose test strips.
The entire workplan can be reviewed here
JCAHO Patient Safety Goals 2006
As stated by Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO),
"...JCAHO is committed to improving safety for patients and residents in health care
organizations. This commitment is inherent in its mission to continuously improve the
safety and quality of care provided to the public through the provision of health care
accreditation and related services that support performance improvement in health care
organizations. At its heart, accreditation is a risk-reduction activity; compliance
with standards is intended to reduce the risk of adverse outcomes. The Joint Commission
demonstrates its commitment to patient safety through numerous efforts."
Click here to view the patient safety goals
Important information for Long Term Care Facilities
Important payment information for skilled nursing facilities has just been released by CMS.
The final rule has updated the payment rates utilized under the prospective payment system
for skilled nursing facilities.
Click here to access the final rule
MEDICARE PROPOSES PAYMENT RATES AND POLICY CHANGES FOR HOSPITAL OUTPATIENT SERVICES
How will payment of Hospital Outpatient Services change in 2006? CMS has released the
proposed changes regarding payment for Hospital Outpatient Services with a comment period
before the final rule is released in November 2005. Facilities should review the possible
changes and allow themselves to be heard by providing comment to CMS. We have provided
you with the CMS News Release and website to obtain further information.
Click here to view the regulatory text
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