Oregon Association for Home Care Annual Meeting
March 8-10, 2006
St. Charles Medical
Conference Center
Bend, Oregon
For more information, please go to the Oregon Association for Home Care Web site at http://www.oahc.org.
Fourth Annual National Private Duty Association Conference
March 15-17, 2006
Grand Hyatt Atlanta, in
Buckhead
Altanta, Georgia
For more information or to register for the "Partnerships for Growth" National Private Duty Association annual leadership conference, call 317-844-7105 or go to http://www.privatedutyhomecare.org.
International Conference on Women and Infectious Diseases: Progress in Science and Action
March 16-18, 2006
Atlanta Marriott Marquis
Hotel
Atlanta, Georgia
For more information, contact the CDC: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Office of Minority and Women's Health, National Center for Infectious Diseases, E-mail: [email protected]. For registration information go to: http://www.womenshealthconf.org.
American Society on Aging Awards
March 16-19, 2006
Anaheim, California
Each year, the American Society on Aging (ASA) recognizes a number of individuals and organizations for their contributions to ASA, to the field of aging, and to older adults.
Awards will be presented at the 2006 Joint Conference of The National Council on the Aging (NCOA) and the American Society on Aging. For descriptions of all the awards, visit http://www.asaging.org/awards or contact Valerie Jones at [email protected].
For more information about the 2006 NCOA-ASA Joint Conference, visit http://www.aging-conference.org/agingconference/jc06/index.cfm. To learn about ASA membership, visit http://www.asaging.org/members/brochure/index.cfm.
NAPNAP's 27th Annual Conference on Pediatric Health Care
"Politics, Policies & Priorities in Children's Health Care"
March 30-April 2, 2006
Washington, DC
For more information, please check the organization's Web site at at http://www.aspmn.org.
American Society for Pain Management Nursing Conference
March 31-April 2, 2006
Hilton at the Walt Disney
World Resort
Orlando, Florida
Information on this conference, "Imagine the Possibilities: Pain Management for All" is available at the organization's Web site: http://www.aspmn.org.
2006 Annual Conference, Society of Pediatric Nurses
"The Magic of Pediatric Nursing"
April 7-9, 2006
Doubletree Hotel
Orlando, Florida
For more information, contact the Society of Pediatric Nurses, 7794 Grove Drive, Pensacola, FL 32514; tel: 800-723-2902 (toll free).
"Anchors Aweigh: Destination Home Care"
April 26-27, 2006
Lake of the Ozarks,
Missouri
For more information, visit http://homecaremissouri.org or call (573) 634-7772.
National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization 7th Clinical Team Conference and 1st Scientific Symposium
April 26-28, 2006
Town and Country Resort
San Diego, California
"Today's Education, Tomorrow's Quality Care" is designed for the hospice/palliative interdisciplinary team, and offers an intensive educational curriculum that is created to equip, educate, and excite. For more information, visit http://www.nhpco.org and select the "Conferences and Education" page.
Missouri Alliance for HOME CARE 2006 Annual Conference & Home Care Exhibition
April 26-28, 2006
The Lodge of the Four Seasons
Osage Beach, Missouri
For more information, contact Missouri Alliance for HOME CARE, 2420 Hyde Park, Suite A, Jefferson City, MO 65109-4731 (telephone: 573-634-7772).
Infusion Nurses Society 2006 Annual Conference
May 6-11, 2006
Reno Hilton
Reno, Nevada
For more information, see the organization's Web site at http://www.ins1.org.
Directors of Health Promotion and Education 24th National Conference on Health Promotion and Education
May 23-26, 2006
Washington, DC
"Advancing the National Health Promotion and Education Agenda Through Effective Policies and Practice"
For more information, visit http://www.dhpe.org/nationalconference or call (301) 685-3317.
5th National Conference on Hospice and Palliative Care Volunteerism and Caregiving
July 28-30, 2006
Adams Mark Hotel
Denver, Colorado
For more information, visit the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization Web site at http://www.nhpco.org and select the "Conferences and Education" page.
21st Management and Leadership Conference
September 11-13, 2006
Hilton New York
New York City,
New York
For more information, visit the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization Web site at http://www.nhpco.org and select the "Conferences and Education" page.
Office of the Inspector General 2006 Work Plan Implications for Home Health
The Office of Inspector General, OIG, has released its Work Plan for fiscal year 2006, revealing areas targeted for audit and investigation in the coming year. The project areas described in the Work Plan reflect what the OIG believes, at the beginning of each fiscal year, to be the identifiable vulnerabilities of the Department of Health and Human Services programs and activities, and promotes improvement in their efficiency and effectiveness.
Home Health
Home Health Outlier Payments
OIG will determine whether outlier payments to home health agencies were in compliance with Medicare regulations. Intended to be a loss-sharing mechanism for costly cases, an outlier payment is made for an episode for which the estimated cost exceeds a threshold amount for each case-mix group. OIG will evaluate the frequency of outliers and whether they cluster in certain Home Health Resource Groups or geographical areas. OIG also plans to determine whether the current outlier methodology is equitable to all home health agencies.
Enhanced Payments for Home Health Therapy
OIG will determine whether home health agencies' therapy services met the threshold for higher payments in compliance with Medicare regulations. They will analyze the number and the duration of therapy visits provided per episode period.
Medicare Home Health Agency Survey and Certification Deficiencies
OIG will examine trends and patterns in home health agencies survey and certification deficiencies. The Social Security Act requires that CMS survey the quality of care and services furnished by home health agencies as measured by indicators of medical, nursing, and rehabilitative care every 36 months. They will also identify whether any home health agencies show patterns of cyclical noncompliance with certification standards.