OASIS Alert

Reader Question:

Document Your Patient Transfer Checks With this Simple Strategy

Print two pages for easy reference.

Question: We admitted a patient who had no record of an episode in HIQH. Now another agency has filed a claim before us for the same period of time and we can't bill. What can we do?

Answer: You'll need to bring the dispute to your regional home health intermediary. And the intermediary will require proof that you looked up the patient in HIQH when you admitted her, RHHI Palmetto GBA says in a recent job aid about patient transfers.

"Be sure to print out page 3 (of the Health Insurance Query for Home Health Agencies) and date stamp it for the beneficiary's records," Palmetto says in the aid. "Should a situation arise regarding a billing conflict, this information will be requested by Palmetto GBA."

Or Try This

Hometown Home Health in Oklahoma City, Okla. uses a different method for establishing the date of the HIQH check. Hometown "copies off page 1 -- which provides a date and time on it -- along with printing out page 3," explains Elaine Anderson, billing director.

"We staple these pages together and keep them for two certs before shredding," Anderson tells Eli. "This way we can go back and look at what was on it if we run into a problem."

Note: More information about how to deal with home health transfers and billing is in the aid on Palmetto's website. E-mail editor Jan Milliman at janm@eliresearch. com with "Transfer Job Aid" in the subject line for a free copy of the tool.

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