The ACIP (Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices) approved the following recommendation by majority (13-1) vote at its December 1, 2020 emergency meeting: When a COVID-19 vaccine is authorized by FDA and recommended by ACIP, vaccination in the initial phase of the COVID-19 vaccination program (Phase 1a) should be offered to … Read More
Permanent expansion of Medicare telehealth services and improved payment for time doctors spend with patients
Late in the day December 1, 2020, CMS released a “flurry” of announcements impacting physicians, telehealth and therapists that you should be aware of. A synopsis of these changes along with links to additional information is found in a Special Edition – MLN Connects with that same date. I have … Read More
CMS updates county positivity rates – December 1, 2020
CMS has posted COVID-19 county positivity rates for December 1, 2020. Archived rates are also available. As a reminder, nursing homes are required to conduct testing of residents and staff. These guidelines include testing staff on a certain frequency based on the COVID-19 positivity rate for the county the nursing … Read More
CMS updates LTC survey process documents
CMS posted updates to several survey process documents/folders on November 25, 2020: The Revision History document provides this synopsis of the updates: Briggs’ subscribers to the Survey Guide 1766 and 1766E will soon receive these updates. Want to keep up with the changing COVID-19 situation in skilled nursing? Subscribe to the Briggs blogCMS posted updates to several survey … Read More
New SimpleAnalyzer™ Function Scores report drives dramatically improved resident outcomes
Are you aware that CMS calculates functional outcomes scores immediately upon submission of a resident’s 5-day assessment? Did you know that SimpleLTC uses machine learning algorithms to present those scores in real-time? The new SimpleAnalyzer™ Function Scores report provides insight into residents’ admission, expected, and discharge scores within minutes of … Read More