As a home health professional, you are inundated with day-to-day demands such as regulatory and compliance issues, budget cuts, denials, etc. leaving little time or resources to interpret data reports, research evidence-based practices, and develop patient and clinician tools. HHQI can help.

During a free, hands-on workshop on July 17 in Downers Grove, Illinois, the Home Health Quality Improvement (HHQI) National Campaign team will provide personalized interactive guidance on data interpretation and the next steps toward developing and sustaining a strong quality improvement plan.

On July 23, HHQI will present a free webinar for Progressive Cardiovascular Learning & Action Network (CardioLAN) members. This webinar is the second half of a 2-part webinar series that reviews Next Steps in Progressive Cardiovascular Care after the Home Health Cardiovascular Data Registry report is in your hand. The first half of this webinar series (presented in June) discussed the Aspirin and Blood Pressure topic areas; the July webinar will discuss Cholesterol and Smoking Cessation.

Click here to access the June recording or to register for the July webinar. 
 

On July 30, 1965, the landscape of health care in America changed forever when President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the landmark amendment to the Social Security Act, giving life to the Medicare and Medicaid programs. Read more.
 

October 1st is coming quickly for the start of ICD-10. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has a Quick Start Guide to assist you in your preparation. CMS also has many tools and resources to prepare and train your staff. 

Check out the Road to 10 website for a wealth of information.

 

Many stakeholders have proposed that the patient experience of care measures, based on the HHCAHPS survey data, be reflected in the star ratings. CMS has been developing "Patient Survey Star Ratings" that are based on the patient experience of care measures, and these are now scheduled for publication on Home Health Compare in January 2016.

In order to distinguish the star rating based on OASIS assessments and claims data from the new Patient Survey Star Ratings, CMS has changed its name from "HHC Star Rating" to "Quality of Patient Care Star Rating." This should allow Home Health Compare (HHC) users to more easily understand the data source for each star rating.

Report Updates:

• The first Star Report will be available to the public on HHC on July 13, 2015.
  • Available in CASPER for 120 days for HHAs
• The next Star Preview Reports were made available for HHA review on June 30 and will be available to the public on October 8, 2015.

CMS has announced a new proposed model for hip and knee replacements. This model's focus is related to reducing complications including infections. An increase in payment is proposed for improvement rates for hospitals. CMS encourages hospitals to collaborate with home health, skilled nursing facilities, and Inpatient Rehab Units to improve care coordination.

See pages 58 and 59 of the Federal Register for a list of geographic locations proposed for this model.

The Affordable Care Act survived its second Supreme Court test in three years, raising odds for its survival but by no means ending the legal and political assaults on it five years after it became law. Read more.
 

The HHS emPOWER Map is an interactive online tool recently launched to aid community health agencies and emergency management officials in disaster preparedness as they plan ahead to meet the emergency needs of community residents who rely on electrically powered medical and assistive equipment to live independently at home. Read more.
 

The Million Hearts Cardiovascular Disease Risk Reduction Model team hosted a webinar briefing on the model test and application process on Wednesday, July 1 at 2:00 PM EDT. Click here to view the presentation slides.
 

The Health Sciences Institute has an extensive library of recorded webinars and videos that have each been pre-approved for 1.0 hour toward CE recertification for Chronic Care Professional (CCP) and Registered Health Coach (RHC) certification and may meet other recertification or licensure CE requirements. 

Click here to browse the complete library. 

Click here to view and listen to previously presented webinars by the Joint Commission Home Care team and guest panelists on a variety of topics, including:

• I'm Accredited; Now What? A Guide to The Supportive Resources Available for Newly Accredited Home Care Providers
• Strategies to Address the 10 Most Commonly Cited Home Care Standards
• Leading Practices to Improve Staff Compliance in Home Care
• Preparing for Your First Home Care Resurvey; What to Expect and Lessons Learned from Other Providers

The IHI Open School offers a collection of free resources including improvement stories, videos, publications, tools, audio clips, activities, and links to recommended websites. Resources are designed for individual and group use.

Check out IHI Open School's newly updated activities, which now include learning objectives, discussion questions, and facilitator guides.

The Collaboration for Homecare Advances in Management and Practice (CHAMP) Program was the first national initiative to advance geriatric home care excellence. CHAMP's valuable resources and e-presentations are still available online.