Navigating the Hospice Special Focus Program: Preparing for Survey Deficiencies and Substantiated Complaints

Description

As CMS prepares to launch the Hospice Special Focus Program (SFP), now is the time to focus on key indicators that could place a hospice in the bottom ten percent of hospices nationwide. The SFP targets hospices in the bottom 10 percent based on hospice survey, Hospice Care Index, and Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (CAHPS®) specific measure performance, placing them under increased scrutiny with more frequent surveys. This webinar will concentrate on two critical areas: survey performance and substantiated complaints, with a focus on how hospices can prepare for this new oversight, with practical insights into improving survey outcomes and addressing common complaint patterns. Attendees will learn strategies to improve quality, strengthen compliance and enhance survey readiness to prepare for the SFP.

Learning Objectives:

• • • Understand the role of surveys and substantiated complaints in CMS’s selection of hospices for the Special Focus Program.
    • Identify the most common deficiencies and complaint trends that could lead to a hospice being placed in the bottom ten percent list.
    • Learn actionable strategies to improve survey readiness and mitigate the risk of substantiated complaints to prepare for the Special Focus Program.

Faculty:

Aparna Gupta DNP, FACHE, CPHQ, CRNP

Dr. Gupta most recently served as Vice President of Clinical Operations, Bundled Payment Solutions, Medicare, and Retirement for UnitedHealth Group (UHG). Prior to joining UHG, Gupta served as Director of Quality, Safety, and Value for the Allegheny Health Network (AHN). Gupta is a board-certified nurse practitioner with more than 20 years of health care leadership experience spanning quality improvement, health care operations, executive leadership, acute care, ageing, complex disease management, clinical services, and implementation of Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) programs.

Prior to her roles with UHG and AHN, Gupta served as a consultant leading an initiative for 34 hospitals and health systems across Pennsylvania to reduce sepsis-related hospital admissions. She previously served as a Senior Nurse Practitioner with the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, as well as a Registered Nurse and Charge RN at two hospitals in Colorado. Gupta has been an active leader in several professional organizations, including serving as President of the Pennsylvania Chapter of the Gerontological Advanced Practice Nurses Association. Her years of delivering high-quality health care have resulted in the achievement of Fellow status with the American College of Healthcare Executives. In her free time, she enjoys reading, traveling, volunteering, and spending time with her family and her four-year-old Bichon. 

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Patrick M. Harrison, JD

Mr. Harrison is NHPCO’s Senior Director of Regulatory and Compliance. Mr. Harrison has worked in the healthcare field for over 14 years with an emphasis on health policy, regulation, and advocacy. Harrison most recently worked as Health Policy Director for Applied Policy, a healthcare policy and reimbursement consulting firm, where he oversaw the firm’s health services division for clients generating billions in annual revenue. There, he provided strategic guidance on regulatory and reimbursement issues, including coding, coverage, and payment considerations, and frequently interfaced with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and Medicare Administrative Contractors (MACs) to resolve compliance and coverage issues.

Prior to joining Applied Policy, Harrison served as Senior Director of Post-Acute Care at the Healthcare Association of Hawaii (HAH), where he provided leadership to drive strategic plans and operations for the association’s hospice, home health, and other post-acute care members. Harrison also worked in a skilled nursing facility in a variety of roles, where he managed many regulatory, compliance, and legislative initiatives, and engaged extensively with hospices, residents, and families to improve care coordination and outcomes. Patrick earned his Juris Doctor, cum laude, from the William S. Richardson School of Law and his baccalaureate degree in anthropology from the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa. 

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Katie Wehri

Ms. Wehri has over 30 years of experience in hospice and home health, holding several executive-level positions. She has extensive and direct knowledge of industry operations, regulation, accreditation standards, interpretation and compliance, quality assessment, and performance improvement programming and compliance programs. She consulted nationally with hospices and home health agencies assisting them with all aspects of operations and compliance. Katie speaks nationally on these issues and provides education to hospice and home health providers. As the Vice President for Regulatory Affairs, Quality and Compliance for the National Association for Home Care and Hospice

(NAHC) she communicates with regulators on hospice and home health issues and policy.

Available Credits for this webinar:
After participating in the live webinar, participants must pay the CE/CME fee and complete an evaluation to receive their selected CE credit.

• • • 1 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s)™
    • 1 Interprofessional Continuing Education (IPCE) credit
    • 1 Nurse Contact Hours

For full accreditation statements and credit information, please visit the Quality and Regulatory Series page.

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