NEWS BRIEFS
NEWS BRIEFS
Try these new on-line resources
Insider Information is a new on-line resource geared to providing the health care industry with source information on prospective payment, coding, and classification issues. Developed by the Hamden, CT-based HSS, a designer of software for coding, reimbursement, and profiling in hospitals, the site (www.hssweb.com) provides users with strict definitions of health care regulations, as well as interpretations and a commentary section.
The National Guideline Clearinghouse (NGC), a resource for evidence-based clinical practice guidelines, has gone on-line. The site (www.guideline. gov) will offer information on clinical care geared toward health care professionals. Guidelines will be presented along with standardized abstracts and tables to allow for easy comparison, especially important when examining two very similar topics.
The NGC’s site will also feature a discussion group where visitors to the site can exchange ideas and information concerning the development, content and implementation of guidelines. It was developed in partnership by the Agency for Health Care Policy Research, the American Medical Association, and the American Association of Health Plans.
OASIS collection suspended temporarily
Because of the organization’s failure to publish a system of records’ regulations (required under the Privacy Act) and acquire an Office of Management and Budget (OMB) clearance number, the Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA) has temporarily suspended enforcement of OASIS data collection and all policies relating to data encoding and reporting.
While the Paperwork Reduction Act requires that a valid OMB control number be assigned to the OASIS data set, certain wording in the regulations allows HCFA to require compliance with the non-OASIS comprehensive assessment requirements published in the January 1999 regulations.
As the suspension is only temporary, a memorandum sent to state agencies and region offices notes that "HHAs are expected to conduct comprehensive assessments, and are encouraged to use the OASIS data set." Additionally, the National Association for Home Care recommends home health agencies use this time to continue training staff in data collection and entry procedures and to develop methods in which to use OASIS data to the agency’s best advantage.
At-home Alzheimer’s test now available
Once determining whether someone was suffering from the early stages of Alzheimer’s was a subject relegated to the physician’s office. On May 1, all that will change when the Alzheimer’s Research Foundation releases the In-Home Alzheimer’s Screening Test (I-HAST). The package contains instructions on administering the six-part test as well as on scoring. I-HAST was designed to resemble a word-and-picture game and focuses on mental agility in the six areas most affected by the disease. Points are given for each missed answer and within each score range, suggestions for follow-up actions are given.
The research foundation, which spent more than two years developing the test, points out that I-HAST allows for repeated use and carries the additional benefit of catching the disease-like symptoms in its early stages, which most medical professionals now see as essential to treatment. Further, because at its onset Alzheimer’s symptoms come and go, the ability to test at home presents clear advantages.
The test kit will be available through bookstores and libraries and cost about $30, compared to anywhere from between $70 and $400 for other test batteries which are conducted by physicians, the foundation says.
To learn more, contact the Alzheimer’s Research Foundation at: P.O. Box 9106, Virginia Beach, VA 23450; toll-free, (877) 427-0220. Or visit the Web site at www.alzheimers-research.org.
There’s trouble in HAVEN
The Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA) recently has been criticized for problems arising from the multi-use of HAVEN (1.03 version) software. The problem, according to the software developer, Fu Associates, is caused when multiple users attempt to enter data simultaneously. Instead of allowing both data sets to be saved, one will be entered correctly while the second may become corrupted.
The updated HAVEN 2.0, scheduled for release June 1, will accommodate for this situation, says the developer. In the new version, the "save" feature will be moved to the end of the program allowing several users to enter data simultaneously. In this instance, one data set will be saved, while the second user(s) will be informed to wait a few minutes before attempting to save the information. Until the update is received, HCFA recommends that users stagger data entry times. HAVEN 2.0 will be available through HCFA’s Web site (www.hcfa.gov) and will include data specifications from the previous version. CD-ROMs will be available for order.
What’s happening with mergers and acquisitions?
Georgia Nursing Services, a home care provider operating in the central portion of the state and employing more than 200 caregivers, has been purchased by West Orange, NJ-based Patient Care Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Chemed Corp., for an undisclosed sum. Patient Care is one of the nation’s largest home care companies and has branches in New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut, as well as Georgia, Illinois, Kentucky, and Ohio. Last year, Georgia Nursing generated revenues in excess of $3.1 million.
Winthrop South Nassau University Health System and Catholic Health Systems of Long Island, both in Melville, NY, have been cleared by New York state health officials to purchase the bankrupt Mid-Island Hospital in Bethpage. The state’s approval allows for the addition of a new wing to house an emergency room, operating suite, and patient-care unit. The purchase price was not revealed. Naples, FL-based Health Management Associates (HMA) has acquired the assets of Methodist Health Care Hospitals, a 473-bed, two-hospital system based in Jackson, MS. With the purchase, HMA, which operates 35 general acute care hospitals in 11 states throughout the Southwest and Southeast, now operates nine hospitals in Mississippi.
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