Of all the subjects representatives can share with doctors, enhanced billing opportunities get the most attention. Hospice representatives and marketing planners have a new opportunity in some old codes: advance care planning. This past November, the Journal of the American Medical Association published a review of more than eighteen thousand Medicare billing records for patients […]

by Gary Brazzell When I was business administrator for Southwest Virginia Home Health, developing our physician newsletters was one of my favorite things to do. Not only was it creative and fun, after my referral source newsletters doubled referrals from doctors and discharge planners, the marketing campaign was one of my greatest professional successes at […]

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services have announced that effective January 1, 2019, they will recognize physician assistants (PAs) as designated hospice attending physicians. Limitations apply, but this may increase the role PAs choose to play in directing hospice referrals, making them more relevant in hospice marketing. PAs still may not conduct the face-to-face […]

Effective October 1, 2018, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) will begin value-based purchasing for skilled nursing facilities (SNFs). CMS will base penalties and rewards exclusively on one measure: all-cause, 30-day hospital readmissions. The bottom 40% of SNFs on this measure face a 2% payment penalty from Medicare. Sixty percent of the payments […]

Doctors, nurses, and discharge planners have a different perspective on your services than patients. They have a greater knowledge background and are able to discuss health care with more specificity. In fact, they prefer that level of communication. Sending your patient-oriented newsletters to doctors may facilitate top-of-mind awareness, but it can also backfire as some doctors will perceive […]