Dear Home Care Colleague,
Though we searched for other important topics to report on, OASIS-C continued to rise to the top this week. We found that we had missed an important source of valuable information in last week’s report on OASIS-C training opportunities so we offer the details this week. Fazzi Associates has put together something special; expect it to make headlines by this time next month.
Our own OASIS-C exploration is still available. We are grateful for the many subscribers to “Home Health Survivor” and remind readers that the half-price offer expires with the first strains of Auld Lang Syne. If you have been putting off subscribing, you do not have much time left to get in on the $99 per office deal. http://homehealthsurvivor.com.
Speaking of OASIS, CMS has published another “errata sheet,” 10 pages of corrections, mostly minor. We did not write an article about it but you can, and should, download this new document and its predecessors at http://www.cms.hhs.gov/OASIS/04_DataSpecifications.asp
Keeping an eye on Washington, especially ARRA, we welcome a guest writer to explore the meaning of “meaningful use” for us. New York surgeon Lawrence Kerr, MC, FACS, has a vested interest in home health care as a result of an online wound care consultation service he launched last year. His perspective is interesting and his research is impeccable.
Lastly, though we know they are not the most popular stories, we must deliver a HIPAA story from time to time if for no other reason that to remind our readers that it is an ongoing obligation that is not going away. If you are one of those agencies sending patient data all over town inside laptop or tablet PCs or handheld PDAs, this week’s story about Medicare Advantage contractor Health Net’s blatant nose-thumbing toward HIPAA enforcement agencies will scare you into taking another look at your own security practices.
Be well this week as we rush toward the days that are holy to many religions. Keep an eye out for patients subject to extreme loneliness. You clinicians know better than most how a sad heart can negatively affect physical health.
Your Editor,
Tim Rowan
