WASHINGTON - July 17, 2019 - QIRT, a home health and hospice coding, billing, and consulting company, will invest time and resources to prepare internal staff for the upcoming upheaval that the new payment model will bring to the home health industry. On July 22 and 23 in Washington, D.C., apropos for Medicare payment changes, the QIRT Summit – The Journey to PDGM will host over 50 full-time coding and OASIS specialists for two full days of PDGM education. Attendees will be eligible for continuing education credit and QIRT is offering this education remotely for employees unable to attend. The thirteen-session educational event will be taught by the highly-credentialed experts in QIRT's education department and several executives who presented at the NAHC PDGM Roadshow events across the country. On or after January 1, 2020, the payment system for home health agencies will be changing from the Home Health Prospective Payment System (HH PPS) to the Patient-Driven Groupings Model (PDGM), which will result in a significant workflow and process change that has raised concerns within the industry.
"QIRT's main goal is always quality support of our partners in the industry. We realize that the best way to support agencies through this transition is to prepare internally and shore up every foundation to create a strong plan for the future that is PDGM," explained Laura Page-Greifinger, President and CEO of QIRT. "Educating our staff on these changes will ensure that QIRT auditors recognize the importance of accurate coding of primary diagnoses and co-morbidities. Thorough and appropriate OASIS reviews coupled with accurate coding will pave the way for agency success in this new payment model. We are proud to invest in our staff this way and are confident it will be a boon for our partners and clients as well."
"Our panel of experts has spent months preparing for this event," added Sherri Parson, VP of Education and Control Standards. "With two full days of coding and OASIS trainings centered on the impacts of PDGM, we can be certain that our quality department is prepared for the January 2020 transition. Our education and quality teams appreciate that QIRT is willing to make such a significant investment in staff education and training. It makes our jobs easier as we navigate and continuously update our quality standards according to CMS."
QIRT has been an active voice since PDGM was proposed by Medicare as the reimbursement model for home health agencies in 2020. In addition to this QIRT-financed conference, the QIRT team has participated in the NAHC PDGM Summits across the nation and has provided multiple seminars and webinars to prepare agencies for this sea change to workflow processes. QIRT is also working with NAHC leadership to design a page on NAHC's website to house a "vendor-agnostic" list where agencies in need of assistance can access tools and support in advance of the transition. Vendors with specialties across the industry have been invited to contribute. The webpage in due to be live within a month. Find out more at QIRT.com.
ABOUT QIRT
In 2006, QIRT was founded by President/CEO Laura Page-Greifinger, BSN, MPA who worked within the post-acute provider space for over 30 years as a nurse, supervisor, executive leader, and clinical consultant. QIRT's initial service was providing multiple types of quality assurance reviews and coding. QIRT has since expanded services to the entire post-acute space including assessment review, hospice coding and eligibility reviews, QAPI audits, and ADR response.
All care providers have workflow processes or operations that create a patient journey from initial referral through reimbursement. The workflow requires quality assurance, education, compliance, and operational strategy within each step of a comprehensive and cyclical process, what QIRT calls: Quality Cycle Management (QCM). QIRT has acquired three post-acute service companies and formed five specialized divisions designed to support post-acute agencies throughout the quality management cycle.
QIRT's employees undergo vigorous vetting prior to hire and continued oversight and monitoring monthly to maintain top-notch compliance. The company works 24/7/365 days a year.
In 2017, QIRT was named to the 2017 Inc. 500/5000 List of Fastest-Growing Companies for the fifth consecutive year. As a leader in the post-acute support industry, QIRT earned the position of 1486, showing a three-year growth of 273%. Inc. magazine reports that companies making this list have, on average, grown six-fold since 2013 in the face of an economy that grew just 6.7 percent during that time. Of the thousands of companies who have applied for this distinction, only 7% have made the list five times, placing QIRT on the Inc. 5000 Honor Roll.
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Bernadette Smith
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