What is the organization’s responsibility with regard to the Medicare Outpatient Observation Notice (MOON) if a patient starts treatment as an outpatient but then is moved to inpatient status? Does the hospital still need to issue the MOON?
Ever since Pat became a nurse case manager three years ago, both family and friends have reached out to her for healthcare advice. She really doesn’t mind and almost expects it, especially since healthcare can be complex and challenging. By sharing her knowledge as a case manager, Pat can often help people navigate healthcare complexities.
Ever since Pat became a nurse case manager three years ago, both family and friends have reached out to her for healthcare advice. She really doesn’t mind and almost expects it, especially since healthcare can be complex and challenging. By sharing her knowledge as a case manager, Pat can often help people navigate healthcare complexities.
The Commission for Case Manager Certification recently announced it is seeking nominations for candidates for the Board of Commissioners. The board is also seeking a public member, which is an individual not currently working in case management or disability management.
Discharge planning, which is integral to providing continuity of care, is a dynamic process. The steps of discharge planning sometimes occur in order, they sometimes overlap, and they sometimes move back and forth.
As hospitals get ready to start notifying patients about their status under the requirements of the NOTICE Act using the MOON form, many still have questions about the process and the form itself. The NOTICE Act requires hospitals to provide a verbal and written notice (using the MOON form) of outpatient status to any patient who has been in observation for more than 24 hours. The hospital must provide notice to the patient within 36 hours of the start of the service, or at the time of discharge or inpatient admission. “The notice must be provided no later than 36 hours after observation services are initiated or, if sooner, upon release,” according to CMS.
A recent JAMA study analyzed the proportion and cost of 30-day readmissions and found that sepsis accounts for a higher rate of unplanned readmissions than acute myocardial infarction (AMI), heart failure, pneumonia, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). CMS uses 30-day readmission rates as a measure of quality of care and pays particular attention to AMI, heart failure, pneumonia, and COPD readmissions because they are frequent and costly.
Looking to get an ACM™ certification? In December, the American Case Management Association (ACMA) and National Board for Case Management (NBCM) announced a change to the exam eligibility requirements that may be of interest to those looking to earn ACM certification. The NBCM now allows applicants with at least one year of full-time supervised work experience to sit for the ACM-RN (Registered Nurse) and ACM-SW (Social Work) exams. Prior to this change, candidates had to have at least two years of case management experience before they could take either exam.
