This course will describe the Triple Aim, an initiative by the Institute for Healthcare Improvement, which focuses on improving population health, improving patient experience and care, and lowering costs. This is part of the evolving healthcare landscape which focuses on value vs. volume. We will also discuss how SLPs can advocate for their important role in this value-based world.

Using examples provided by Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), this interactive course will demonstrate how to score the new J and GG questions on the Outcome and Assessment Information Set (OASIS D). It will address how to improve accuracy in answering the new questions and how they relate to existing M questions on the OASIS.

Effective clinical documentation has never been more important for the Speech-Language Pathologist than it is in today’s healthcare climate. This course will help SLPs working with the aging population to effectively document skilled care for aging patients with cognitive-communication disorders.

The most significant payment model change in over 20 years will move from concept to reality January 1, 2020. It may seem like there is plenty of time to prepare for impact, but this model will remove the relationship between the number of therapy visits and reimbursement, causing additional anxiety for therapists working in home health. This course will break down the key components of the Patient-Driven Groupings Model (PDGM) and provide strategies for therapists to articulate value beyond the visit.

This course will provide an explanation of the process measures found in the Outcome and Assessment Information Set (OASIS). It will address changes that will be implemented in the OASIS-D beginning in January 2019.

This course will provide an overview of the new Patient Driven Payment Model (PDPM), which will be implemented to replace the current Resource Utilization Groups - Version Four (RUG-IV) system in October of 2019. The course will provide an overview of all case mix indexes in addition to detailed analysis of the speech-language pathology updates.

This course will provide the SLP with an in-depth understanding of home health care with adult patients. It includes information regarding the history of home care, counseling and generalization in the home care setting, the Outcome & Assessment Information Set (OASIS), and considerations for care planning, assessment, documentation and treatment. Conditions of Participation for home care and the SLP’s role in medication management and maintenance therapy will be discussed. This series is recommended for SLPs considering home care as a possible work setting and for SLPs currently working in home care who are seeking to broaden their knowledge and strengthen their practice within it.

This course will target unique coding, billing and supervision issues specific to speech-language pathologists who provide behavioral and qualitative analysis of voice, instrumental laryngeal assessments, and therapeutic intervention of voice and upper airway disorders. Optimal professional practice requires applicable knowledge of supervision regulations, billing options, and current health care coding systems (i.e., CPT and ICD).

This course will discuss information (e.g., AAC types, features, access methods, evaluation elements) that is necessary to accurately document augmentative/alternative communication (AAC) assessment outcomes for funding of a device via Medicare, which is the largest funding source of speech generating devices (SGDs). However, the content of this course is also applicable for SLPs working with clients who need AAC funding from any third-party payer source.

Current efforts to reform the SNF Part A benefit are based upon recommendations from the Office of Inspector General (OIG) and Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) to move from volume- to value-based care, which is based upon patient characteristics. This course will review the current Resident Classification System, Version I (RCS-I) model which has been published by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) as an Advanced Notice of Proposed Rule Making.