HCFA memo draws criticism of directors
HCFA memo draws criticism of directors
Reaction to the Health Care Financing Administration’s (HCFA) memorandum clarifying rules for provider-based home health agencies to maintain their status has many directors shaking their heads. While supporting HCFA’s efforts to be a good Medicare steward, agency directors, nonetheless, see the criteria as somewhat unrealistic. Cathy Frasca, RN, director of South Hills Health System’s Home Health Agency in Homestead, PA, says, "The timing is not appropriate because we are heading toward prospective payment, and when that is in effect, many hospital-based agencies will become freestanding." In a letter to HCFA, she argued that the rules decrease a hospital’s ability to serve outlying patients and reduce access to care and efficiency inherent in shared administrative services. She adds, "I think it’s sad, when at a time everything is moving to the future, HCFA is sort of looking backward on this one."
As yet, HCFA has not responded to the agencies’ concerns.
Web TV: It looks and sounds promising
No, Web TV isn’t a new music video channel, although developers of the new telemedical technology hope it will be a big hit when it’s marketed next year. An Internet-based health care information system, Web TV connects to the Internet through television sets and telephones, eliminating the expense of a home computer. Nurses can access medical records, forms, medications, and care plans in the home on the TV screen. Foster P. Carr, MD, founder of Digital Med in San Diego, has been using Web TV with some of his home health patients and reports "the response has been very positive." He has not yet begun beta testing the system at home health agencies but expects to early next year.
A concern with Web-based systems is patient privacy. Encryption software is available, but it can slow data retrieval, notes Ramana Reddy, PhD, a researcher working on a similar project at West Virginia University. His system, called Artemis, could be on the market in 12-18 months. Stay tuned.
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