Here’s a complete list of the education sessions. For more information, including dates and times, please go to MyPlanner. Click here to evaluate courses and to download CEs.

101. Hospice Pre-Claim Review
Sunday, October 15, 3:30 PM – 5:00 PM

Faculty
M. Aaron Little CPA
Michelle Stone-Smith, MBA

Big issues hospices should know about and learn from HH’s PCR trials and tribulations Medicare hospice providers continue to draw attention from the Office of Inspector General and scrutiny from program integrity contractors due to improper payments.  The implementation of the Medicare home health pre-claim review (PCR) process in 2016 represented a significant move by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) away from its historical “pay-and-chase” approach to a more effective and proactive strategy aimed at preventing illegitimate provider payments.  While the PCR process has created significant hardships for home health providers, it has been deemed a success by CMS and is expected to continue to expand to other Medicare providers, including hospices.
By applying lessons learned from the PCR demonstration project, this session will focus on common hospice payment threats and documentation compliance risks, including election statements, general inpatient care documentation, notices of election, physician certifications and supporting documentation, and other coverage and payment conditions.  Strategies for mitigating risks by leveraging the use of technology to more effectively monitor documentation processes will be examined, along with tactics for conducting proactive compliance audits.

102. Hospice Regulatory and Policy Update
Sunday, October 15, 3:30 PM – 5:00 PM

Faculty
Theresa Forster, BS

Over recent years, hospice has undergone rapid transformation as the result of numerous regulatory changes and intensified oversight efforts.  The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ (CMS) ongoing monitoring of hospice utilization and practice patterns are expected to produce additional regulatory and policy changes over the coming years.  This session will provide an overview of pending hospice regulatory and policy considerations in the hospice world, with a special focus on the fiscal year 2018 payment rule.

103. Taking your QAPI Program to the Next Level
Sunday, October 15, 3:30 PM – 5:00 PM

Faculty
J’non Griffin RN MHA, WCC, HCS-D, COS-C, HCS-C, HCS-H

This session on QAPI is designed for more advanced audiences and those with QAPI programs already in place. We’ll review metrics, measures, and outcomes used in evaluating QAPI outcomes.

104. Lean Management
Sunday, October 15, 3:30 PM – 5:00 PM

Faculty
Jenni Blendu RN MBA
Richard Curry MS PT, MBA

The long-term, continuous improvement approach of lean management caters well to home health and hospice organizations. The systematic and incremental changes to improve efficiency and quality parallel the influx of new regulations. Faculty will begin by explaining the concept and importance of lean management principles.

105. Billing and Payment Models for Palliative Care
Sunday, October 15, 3:30 PM – 5:00 PM

Faculty
Liz Fowler MPH
Tom Gualtieri-Reed MBA

An advanced session designed for those familiar with palliative care programs, this session will begin with a brief review of the various billing and payment models for home care and palliative care services (all payers, Center for Medicare & Medicaid Innovation, bundles, value-based purchasing, pre-claim review, etc.).

106. From Research to Innovation: The Path to the Quadruple Aim
Sunday, October 15, 3:30 PM – 5:00 PM

Faculty
Tim Ashe RN, MS, MBA

This presentation will delve deeply into the results of the 2016-2017 National State of the Industry Study which is based on interviews with 751 agency leaders across the country. The intention of the study was to provide information and insight about home health and hospice operational practices and trends to help all agencies improve quality, profitability, efficiency and patient satisfaction.

201. Updates From Your MAC – CGS
Monday, October 16, 11:00 AM – 12:30 PM

Faculty
Sandy Decker RN, BSN
Nykesha Scales MBA

This session will be presented by Medicare Administrative Contractor CGS Administrators, LLC You definitely don’t want to miss this session if your agency is in Colorado, Delaware, Iowa, Kansas, Maryland, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Utah, Virginia, West Virginia, Wyoming, or the District of Columbia, or other states where CGS might be your Medicare Administrative Contractor (Jurisdiction 15). This education session will address recent and future changes in Medicare that have or will impact processing and payment of Medicare claims to home health and hospice agencies. We will also discuss common billing errors and resources for preventing and resolving these mistakes.

202. Meet Your Medicare Contractor: National Government Services (NGS)
Monday, October 16, 11:00 AM – 12:30 PM

Faculty
Corrinne Ball RN, CPC, CAC, CACO
Shelly Dailey BSN, RN, CPHM

Come one, come all and meet your Home Health and Hospice Medicare Contractor, National Government Services (MAC Jurisdiction 6 and Jurisdiction K), for a live interactive session. It’s imperative that providers stay informed of Medicare regulations and changes within their jurisdiction. Medicare providers are faced with the challenges of providing quality of healthcare while meeting the ever changing regulatory and compliance regulations. During this session we will discuss the latest issues in the hospice and home health industry for billing and compliance, and provide information to avoid costly Medicare mistakes. During this session we will take you on a live interactive virtual ride to explore the various tools and resources available to our providers. Website navigation, tools and resources are essential for your day-to-day operations, and you don’t want to miss out on discovering these valuable tools available to you free of charge.

203. Updates From Your MAC – Palmetto GBA
Monday, October 16, 11:00 AM – 12:30 PM

Faculty
Kim Campbell BS, MA, MHP
Charles Canaan MPH, BSN, RN
Daniel George

204. An Ounce of Prevention: Insulating Your Home Care Agency Against Common Targets of Wage-Hour Litigation and Investigations
Monday, October 16, 11:00 AM – 12:30 PM

Faculty
Angelo Spinola Esq.

Join Littler Shareholder Angelo Spinola, nationally recognized as one of the leading practitioners representing the home care industry across the country, who will survey the changing legal landscape of the industry. Investigations and lawsuits against home care companies continue to rise, while the new political administration’s policy agenda remains in flux.  Angelo will advise you on the latest litigation trends and Department of Labor activities and how to comply with wage hour laws while still operating a successful home care business.  He will discuss the pay practices and issues most commonly targeted in the home care industry such as per-visit pay, travel time, sleeping time, expense reimbursements, use of independent contractors and how companies can reduce their risk of liability by creating and prioritizing a compliance plan.

211. Leveraging the Skills of Your Workforce: Home Health and Hospice
Monday, October 16, 2:30 PM – 3:30 PM

Faculty
Cynthia Campbell BSN, RN
Karen Gomes RN, MS, CPHQ

Cultivate skills in your staff to create a more versatile workforce when we review a case study and describe positive outcomes for both staff and organization.

212. Understanding the Scope and Practice of Therapists
Monday, October 16, 2:30 PM – 3:30 PM

Faculty
Jennifer Sandel MPT, HCS-O

This session will review the scope and practice of therapists, and include discussion on the differences among physical, speech, and occupational therapists and their respective approaches to treatment.

213. Compliance Insights for the C-Level
Monday, October 16, 2:30 PM – 3:30 PM

Faculty
William (Bill) Dombi Esq.
Alan Schabes, Esq.

Home care and hospice are highly complex businesses that require leadership to be fully engaged in compliance for the businesses to be truly successful. This program brings the 2017 compliance risk areas and risk management solutions to the C-level executive who has leadership responsibility for compliance. That executive needs to be able to identify operational vulnerabilities and be prepared to establish enterprise-wide process to ensure comprehensive compliance.

214. IMPACT Act and Post-Acute Care
Monday, October 16, 2:30 PM – 3:30 PM

Faculty
Kristi Bajer BSN, RN
Michael McGowan

The IMPACT Act of 2014 has measures still being implemented. This session will start with defining the IMPACT Act and the parts of the healthcare industry it affects.

215. Healthcare Episodes Across the Continuum
Monday, October 16, 2:30 PM – 3:30 PM

Faculty
Mark Sharp
Sue Payne

Are we missing parts of the story when we don’t take a comprehensive view of what a real healthcare episode is? In this session we’ll be defining the term “healthcare episode” and dissecting it to learn why breadth AND depth matter.

216. Additional Updates From Your MAC – CGS
Monday, October 16, 2:30 PM – 3:30 PM

Faculty
Sandy Decker RN, BSN
Nykesha Scales MBA

This session will be presented by Medicare Administrative Contractor CGS Administrators, LLC. Put this session on your list to hear about the most current Medicare programs and special initiatives and how they will impact your business.

221. Innovative Models of Care for Hospice Patients with Very Short Lengths of Stay (LOS)
Monday, October 16, 3:45 PM – 4:45 PM

Faculty
Liz Fowler
Julia Maroney RN MHSA
Patricia O’Brien
Sarah McSpadden

Attendees will be exposed to discussions of innovative models of care for patients with very short lengths of stay (LOS), how to differentiate from usual hospice models, and how to identify quality risk factors for these patients.

222. Population Health Management for the Experienced Executive
Monday, October 16, 3:45 PM – 4:45 PM

Faculty
Rose Madden-Baer DNP, RN, MHSA, FAAN, BC-PHCNS, CPHQ, CHCE, COS-C
Scott Vasey

In this advanced-level session, attendees will be exposed to effective methodologies in care management and discussions of the role of post-acute care organizations in managing chronic care patients across the continuum.

223. How Electronic Visit Verification (EVV) Will Impact Your Organization
Monday, October 16, 3:45 PM – 4:45 PM

Faculty
Tom Underwood

With EVV quickly soaking into our healthcare system, it behooves providers to stay ahead of the curve before this function becomes a mandate. An expert panel will discuss EVV and what has led to its necessity – how do we address it?

224. What is the True Cost of Employee Turnover?
Monday, October 16, 3:45 PM – 4:45 PM

Faculty
Hayley Gleason MS, MSW

Do you know what training and administrative tasks for new hires really adds up to? In this session we’ll dive deeper into the true cost of employee turnover, and it’s not just about the numbers.

225. Making Medicare Managed Care Work for You
Monday, October 16, 3:45 PM – 4:45 PM

Faculty
Dawn Michelizzi
Todd Montigney

Maximize clinical programs and attract different payer sources.

226. How to Develop a Multi-Disciplinary Pain Management Team Including Therapy and Pharmacy
Monday, October 16, 3:45 PM – 4:45 PM

Faculty
Sheryl Bellinger MA, BSN, RN, CHCA
Sharon Litwin RN

Designed for basic- to intermediate-level staff, this session will highlight how pain management is more than medication management.

231. Value-Based Purchasing
Monday, October 16, 5:00 PM – 6:00 PM

Faculty
Melinda Gaboury BBA, COS-C

This session on value-based purchasing (VBP) involves perspectives from the clinical and financial standpoints and will kick off with identifying what parts of the country are affected and the timetable for future states’ involvement.

232. Keeping Your Company Nimble: Managing Change
Monday, October 16, 5:00 PM – 6:00 PM

Faculty
Beau Sorenson

The constant legal and regulatory updates in our industry have a negative effect on our workforce. In this session we’ll be describing the impact of change on workforce morale in home care and hospice and the importance of employee engagement.

233. 10 Greatest Misconceptions in Home Health and Hospice
Monday, October 16, 5:00 PM – 6:00 PM

Faculty
Kendall Ford PT, MSEd, PhD, ACHE, COS-C
Kimberly Lane RN BSN MSN
Lisa Musgrave RN, BSN, MHA

This session will provide misconceptions from outside the industry as well as appropriate amusing misnomers! We’ll discuss ways to prevent this diversion, such as reference sources, tool kits, and guidelines.

234. Are You Prepared for a Medicare Audit?
Monday, October 16, 5:00 PM – 6:00 PM

Faculty
Corrinne Ball RN, CPC, CAC, CACO
Shelly Dailey BSN, RN, CPHM

This session will be presented by the National Government Services (NGS) provider outreach and education home health and hospice team to introduce providers to the different Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) medical review Contractors and their role in the Medicare program. During this session we will examine the progressive corrective action (PCA) process that is performed by the Medicare administrative contractors (MACs), and provide detailed information for responding to an additional documentation request (ADR).

235. HHFMA Open Forum
Monday, October 16, 5:00 PM – 6:00 PM

Faculty
William (Bill) Dombi Esq.

For over 20 years, the annual Home Health Financial Managers Association (HHFMA) Open Forum, a highly popular and  interactive session, has brought  the expert HHFMA Board and Workgroup together with conference attendees who have interest in home care and hospice financial and management issues. Moderated by HHFMA Executive Director, Bill Dombi, this session is intended to provide an opportunity for attendees to exchange ideas, concerns, and solutions on everyday matters though the combined talents and expertise of the forum participants. Come prepared with your list of questions and insights  or just open ears to learn.

*No CE’s will be awarded for this session.

236. Pre-Claim Review Toolkit
Monday, October 16, 5:00 PM – 6:00 PM

Faculty
Yolanda Riley

There’s a lot we can learn from other states who’ve been working through pre-claim review (PCR), and many of us will need to change the way we adapt.

301. Hospice Quality – Seeing the Forest Through the Trees
Tuesday, October 17, 11:30 AM – 12:30 PM

Faculty
Katie Wehri
Renee Wheaton

This session will briefly review the history of the hospice quality reporting program, provide an update on new measures and potential new measures, and discuss the possibilities for the future of the HQRP including  HEART and tying payment to quality.

302. Introduction to Population Health Management
Tuesday, October 17, 11:30 AM – 12:30 PM

Faculty
Susan Adams RN, BSN, MHSA, PhD

This introductory-level session will begin with defining population health management (PHM) and explanations of payment and risk models included in PHM.

303. Home Health Regulatory Roundup
Tuesday, October 17, 11:30 AM – 12:30 PM

Faculty
Mary Carr RN, MPH

This program will be presented to inform attendees about the status of the current Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) regulations and policies that are of greatest concern to home health agencies. Hot topics will include: the proposed HH PPS rate update for 2018, the HHCoPs, IMPACT Act, and more. During this session, an opportunity will be provided for attendees to discuss the challenges that they are facing.

304. Positioning for Post-Acute Care Collaboratives from a Marketing and Sales Perspective
Tuesday, October 17, 11:30 AM – 12:30 PM

Faculty
Elizabeth Kleber PhD, RN
Karen McGinnis RN BSN

Positioning for post-acute care collaboratives is a great business development booster. In this session we’ll discuss how to approach other programs across the continuum.

305. Process, Productivity & Profits: Home Health Information System Supply Chain
Tuesday, October 17, 11:30 AM – 12:30 PM

Faculty
Sharon Kim Gaffey MSN, RN
Kathy Merrill MBA, Lean Professional
Annette Zwerner – 6 Sigma Master Black Belt, IHI Innovation Scholar

This session will illustrate how Lean is applied in a Home Health or Hospice Agency to improve resource efficiency and effectiveness, documentation integrity to meet CMS criteria and financial performance through claims processing, improved staff productivity, and increased revenue streams. The best practices are a result of a CMS Home Health F2F and PCR demonstration project using Lean methodology at home health agencies (participating agency, Gaffey Home Nursing & Hospice Inc.). Presentation will highlight lessons learned and best practices of the CMS’ demonstration project of Home Health Information Supply Chain and revenue cycle performance improvement focused on Face to Face documentation and Pre-Claim Review of all patient documents from intake to billing. The presenters will share the approach used to evaluate the health information and revenue cycle process from the referral source to the payor and outcome of the project relative to the home health agency and CMS/MAC. This approach has also been used in hospice agencies.

306. Palliative Care Across the Continuum
Tuesday, October 17, 11:30 AM – 12:30 PM

Faculty
Chad Lore, NP
Karen Marshall Thompson MS, RN, CNS
Teresa Ruby

This session, designed for a broad audience base, will describe the components of palliative care across the continuum and provide tips and guidelines to assist others in palliative care program development.
NOTE: This session is offered twice during the conference although faculty is different for each session.

311. Striking a Balance: Hospice Medical Directors and Administrators Working Together
Tuesday, October 17, 2:30 PM – 3:30 PM

Faculty
Dr. Clevis Parker
Katie Wehri

A hospice needs leadership from both the medical director and the administrator with the strength and effectiveness of this partnership being central to the success of the organization.  As hospices prepare to go through epic change over the next five to ten years, this partnership is not just a key component to a hospice’s success – it is paramount.  Supporting processes and resources for high quality care and financial performance will only be successful when medical directors and administrators understand their respective roles and how best to support each other, and ultimately the hospice,  by partnering together to lead the organization.  This session will review the function and resources necessary for each of these roles, discuss the processes and policies that help to cement the partnership, and share how hospices of all sizes and types.

Learning Outcomes

• Briefly compare and contrast the role, responsibility and function of the medical director and the administrator
• Briefly share the impact of anticipated changes over the next five to ten years and their impact on these roles and the partnership
• Discuss which organization processes are shared and the structure, policies and procedures necessary to support these processes
• Share tips for implementation of the structures, policies and procedures for hospices of all sizes and type

312. Cyber Security: Business as Usual or the End of Your Business?
Tuesday, October 17, 2:30 PM – 3:30 PM

Faculty
Earl Lumpkins

Do you know what you’d do if your agency got hacked? Are you prepared for ransomware attacks?

313. Creative Strategies for Recruitment and Retention
Tuesday, October 17, 2:30 PM – 3:30 PM

Faculty
Brecken Anderson RN, BSN, MSN
Ashley Briones MBA, PHR, SHRM-CP

314. Home Health Organizational Process Improvement Coaching Project (OPICP)
Tuesday, October 17, 2:30 PM – 3:30 PM

Faculty
Krisdee Foster
Sharon Kim Gaffey MSN, RN
Tammy Tucci BA

OPICP promotes sustainable improvement by pairing providers with process engineers to analyze their Health Information Supply Chain (HISC). The goal is to target a decrease in denials or non-affirmations by reducing the frequency of errors causing them. Palmetto GBA partnered with Gaffey Home Health Agency in Illinois to participate in an OPICP.

315. How Recent Regulation Changes Have Affected Wage and Hour Laws
Tuesday, October 17, 2:30 PM – 3:30 PM

Faculty
Bob King

Back by popular demand is our wage and hour issues presentation.

316. Evidence-Based Practice in Home Health and Hospice
Tuesday, October 17, 2:30 PM – 3:30 PM

Faculty
Andrea Calhoun
Laurie Salmons

This session is designed to appeal to introductory-level and advanced audiences. Relying on best guesses and/or habit for patient care doesn’t cut it in our regulatory landscape. Evidence-based practice (EBP) conditions caregivers to be more consistent from patient to patient, improving quality scores and patient satisfaction. We’ll begin by defining EBP and reviewing how it really takes form.

321. Palliative Care Across the Continuum
Tuesday, October 17, 3:45 PM – 4:45 PM

Faculty
Suzan Cmolik RN, BS, MBA

This session, designed for a broad audience base, will describe the components of palliative care across the continuum and provide tips and guidelines to assist others in palliative care program development.
NOTE: This session is offered twice during the conference although faculty is different for each session.

322. Leveraging Technology Across the Continuum
Tuesday, October 17, 3:45 PM – 4:45 PM

Faculty
Ricky Smith

Designed for intermediate experience levels, this session will review how technology can be leveraged across the settings to optimize quality while decreasing cost and will include discussions on programs based upon the analysis and data for an entire episode of care, from physician, to hospital, to post-acute care provider.

323. Disruptive Technology as Your Business Plan
Tuesday, October 17, 3:45 PM – 4:45 PM

Faculty
Sean Hunt
Joy Taylor Licensed Attorney; Registered Patent Attorney; MPH

We are in an age of innovative technology startup companies bursting onto the scene and becoming pioneering models of branding and customer service delivery. Healthcare will need to learn to compete in this market. In this session on disruptive technology in healthcare, we’ll begin by analyzing some of the burgeoning services in existence and discuss their disruptive principles in healthcare.

324. Creative Strategies for Recruitment and Retention
Tuesday, October 17, 3:45 PM – 4:45 PM

Faculty
Lisa Gurgone
Liz Osbahr

We’re all aware of the current nursing and caregiver shortages and the problems that lie ahead because of it. Now is the time to get creative with retention and recruitment tactics to get staff that sticks around. This session will focus on how to maintain staff engagement.
NOTE: This session is offered twice during the conference although faculty is different for each session.

325. The ABCs of ACOs
Tuesday, October 17, 3:45 PM – 4:45 PM

Faculty
Renee Coughlin PT, DPT, MHS

Attend this session and review how data and reports are used to identify best practices and quality performers.

326. The Basics of Developing a QAPI Program as Part of the New CoPs
Tuesday, October 17, 3:45 PM – 4:45 PM

Faculty
Amber Ford BSN
Christine Lang MBA

Quality Assurance and Performance Improvement (QAPI) programs are a mandate in the new Home Health Conditions of Participation (HHCoPs). In this introductory-level session we’ll be explaining the concept of quality reporting and its evolution.