Pre-Conference 1

Revenue Cycle: PDGM Compliance Through Proper Coding
8:10 a.m. – 9:05 a.m. 

REGISTRATION & CONTINENTAL BREAKFAST

Understand and Master the Codes That Drive Payment in PDGM
9:05 a.m. – 10:20 a.m. 
Sherri Parson RN, HCS-D, HCS-O, COS-C, BCHH-C, HSC-H, Post-Acute Education Senior Manager with McBee Associates, Inc.
Review how unacceptable codes, primary diagnosis designations, and comorbidity listings have been impacting payments under PDGM. In this session, you will walk you through examples of where coders continue to get tripped up when completing key pieces of documentation, and gain a better understanding of how to treat special circumstances such as complications, symptoms codes, proper sequencing, and more.

Tool: Coding review checklist

Revenue Cycle: PDGM Compliance Through Proper Coding
10:20 a.m. – 10:40 a.m. 

NETWORKING & REFRESHMENT BREAK

Best Strategies for Billers and Coders to Work Together
10:40 a.m. – 11:55 a.m. 
Melinda Gaboury, COS-C, Chief Executive Officer
Every team member plays a part in keeping the revenue cycle moving smoothly. Learn how staff can work collaboratively in every step of the process to move claims efficiently and accurately and ensure accurate payments. Learn the key elements impacting the payment of PDGM claims.

NETWORKING LUNCH—Provided
11:55 a.m. – 12:55 p.m. 

PDGM Data Trends That Impact Coding and Payment
12:55 p.m. – 2:10 p.m 
Chris Attaya, Vice President, Product Strategy – Strategic Healthcare Programs
Almost two years into PDGM, now is the critical time to stop and look at how coding behavior has or hasn’t changed as a result of the pandemic and PDGM. Measure your agency against others across the country on key benchmarks related to primary diagnosis, comorbidity adjustments, LUPAs, functional impairment, and more.

NETWORKING & REFRESHMENT BREAK
2:10 p.m. – 2:30 p.m.

Connect the Dots: OASIS, Coding, and Payment
2:30 p.m. – 3:45 p.m.
Karen Tibbs, RN, MS, HCS-D, COS-C, Senior Quality Manager – OASIS & Coding, McBee Associates
The diagnosis codes your agency chooses as well as responses to certain functional OASIS items drive your episode payments under PDGM. Understand what documentation is required to support proper reimbursement and avoid regulatory scrutiny. This session will discuss the crucial role of the plan of care to connect the patient’s assessment with documentation and delivery of care. Discover methods to increase clinician accountability for timely, accurate, and complete patient information.

Interactive Session: Work Through Scenarios to Understand Coding’s Impact on Payment
3:50 p.m. – 5:05 p.m. 
J’non Griffin, RN, MHA, HCS-D, HCS-C, HCS-H, COS-C, President – Home Health Solutions, LLC
Arlynn Hansell, PT, HCS-D, HCS-H, HCS-O, COS-C, Owner – Therapy and More, LLC
Working through scenarios that show how the codes you choose can impact payment is the best way to ensure that you have the processes in place to get paid correctly for the care you provide. During this session, you will walk through scenarios—from assessment to claims submission—to learn how making different coding choices can lead to different clinical and financial outcomes and in some cases present compliance risks.

Pre-Conference 2

Compliance Best Practices from Intake to Discharge
8:10 a.m. – 9:10 a.m.

REGISTRATION & CONTINENTAL BREAKFAST

Working Together: Navigating Change and Challenge as a Team
9:10 a.m. – 10:25 a.m. 
Sharon Harder, President - C3 Advisors, LLC
As a home health professional, you’ve come to expect change—new regulations, new interpretations, new guidance, new codes, new payment requirements. Then there are the unexpected challenges such as a natural disasters or pandemics, and all the complications they bring. The more everyone in your agency can work together, across departments, the stronger you can be in adapting to change. Learn how to support one another and thrive in uncertain times.

Tool: Agency interdepartmental compliance checklist

NETWORKING & REFRESHMENT BREAK
10:25 a.m. – 10:45 a.m.

From Intake to Discharge: Establish Processes That Safeguard Claims and Prevent Survey Scrutiny
10:45 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. 
Arlene Maxim, RN, HCS-C, Home Health and Hospice Expert – A.D. Maxim Holdings, LLC
Thorough and reliable processes have never been more important for the success of your agency. Learn how to gather accurate information and detailed documentation at every step and you will ensure that all aspects of care run smoothly, from intake to discharge.

Tools: Re-engineering discharge (RED) for home health & Enhanced intake process form

NETWORKING LUNCH—Provided
12:00 p.m. – 1:00 p.m.

Address and Avoid Top Claim Denials and Survey Deficiencies
1:00 p.m. – 2:15 p.m 
Robert W. Markette Jr., JD, CHC, HCS-C, Attorney – Hall, Render, Killian, Heath & Lyman
A denied claim is the last thing you want to see after you’ve already spent time and resources delivering care. And survey deficiencies can be even more devastating. You can head off future trouble by learning from the causes of the most common home health claim denials and survey deficiencies. Addressing these issues before you drop the claim or greet a surveyor at the door will help safeguard reimbursement and prevent future headaches.

NETWORKING & REFRESHMENT BREAK
2:15 p.m. – 2:35 p.m. 

Ensure Compliance, Avoid Top 10 Documentation Mistakes
2:35 p.m. – 3:50 p.m. 
Sharon Harder, President – C3 Advisors, LLC
Compliant documentation demonstrates eligibility, identifies the skilled care your patients require, and ensures ethical reimbursement. Poor documentation can undermine all the work your agency does to provide care for patients. Learn steps you can take to avoid common documentation pitfalls.

Interactive Session: Test Your ADR Response Skills, Secure Proper Documentation
3:55 p.m. – 5:10 p.m.
Sharon Harder, home health and hospice compliance leader, president of C3 Advisors LLC
Arlene Maxim, RN, HCS-C
Put your knowledge to the test in this interactive session on managing ADRs. Break into groups with your fellow attendees to work through a scenario to secure accurate and compliant documentation.

Tool: Patient-centered care planning form

Track 1: Master Disease-Specific Coding

TRACK 1: Master Disease-Specific Coding
This track is intended for coders who have been coding in home health for at least 1 year and either plan to sit for their HCS-D credential or who became credentialed in the past year.

Master Disease-Specific Coding
8:10 a.m. – 9:05 a.m.

REGISTRATION & CONTINENTAL BREAKFAST

Get to the Bones of Ortho Coding
9:05 a.m. – 10:20 a.m. 
Arlynn Hansell, PT, HCS-D, HCS-H, HCS-O, COS-C, Owner – Therapy and More, LLC
This session will cover the most complex coding challenges related to fractures, joint replacements, transplants, and failures. You’ll learn the ins and outs of when to use Z48.0- (encounter for dressings, sutures and drains) versus Z47.- (encounter for other ortho care) to avoid upcoding charges. Plus, you’ll recognize the importance of learning why and where it broke, when it’s trauma versus pathology, how to handle joint replacements that go right and those that don’t, and how to correctly identify when it’s a complication.

NETWORKING & REFRESHMENT BREAK
10:20 a.m. – 10:40 a.m.

Every Breath You Take: Respiratory/COVID Coding
10:40 a.m. – 11:55 a.m.
J’non Griffin, RN, MHA, HCS-D, HCS-C, HCS-H, COS-C, President – Home Health Solutions, LLC
Delve into the challenges that coders face when coding COVID-19 patients and get tips for how to handle the long-term sequelae caused by the coronavirus. Understand the differences between “blue bloaters” and “pink puffers” as well the nuances when coding and documenting for different pneumonias. Plus, conquer the challenges of coding complex patients with multiple secondary conditions that impact the comorbidity adjustment.

NETWORKING LUNCH—Provided
11:55 a.m. – 12:55 p.m.

Getting Buggy With it: Sepsis and More
12:55 p.m. – 2:10 p.m.
Arlynn Hansell, PT, HCS-D, HCS-H, HCS-O, COS-C, Owner – Therapy and More, LLC
Learn how sepsis code Z45.2 impacts PDGM payments. Also discover the steps of coding sepsis and how to hunt down the correct code for the bug the patient has. You’ll learn what key documentation points to review, how to query properly, how to identify the types of bacteria, and how to find correct infectious codes. Get tips for what you can assume versus what you need to query for when coding infectious diseases.

NETWORKING & REFRESHMENT BREAK
2:10 p.m. – 2:30 p.m.

Heartbreak Hotel: Hypertension and Heart Disease
2:30 p.m. – 3:45 p.m. 
J’non Griffin, RN, MHA, HCS-D, HCS-C, HCS-H, COS-C, President – Home Health Solutions, LLC
Stay out of the Heartbreak Hotel by learning how to code for complex conditions related to hypertension and heart disease. Choose the correct codes to ensure that your agency is getting credit for caring for patients in the MMTA Cardiac Category and get tips for deciding if the condition is rheumatic or non-rheumatic. Dig into coding challenges with the five types of MIs, CVAs and sequelae, as well as secondary hypertension.

Tool: Quick tips for coding heart conditions

Scenario Workshop: How to Code Straight From the Chart
3:50 p.m. – 5:05 p.m. 
J’non Griffin, RN, MHA, HCS-D, HCS-C, HCS-H, COS-C, President – Home Health Solutions, LLC
Arlynn Hansell, PT, HCS-D, HCS-H, HCS-O, COS-C, Owner – Therapy and More, LLC
Work through patient cases from start to finish. You’ll use sample patient charts based on real-life samples and a coder’s notebook to practice how to complete the entire process, from the investigation, query, and OASIS review to correct coding directly from a sample patient chart.

NETWORKING RECEPTION
5:05p.m. – 6:00 p.m.

Track 2: Take Your Coding Profession to the Next Level

TRACK 2: Take Your Coding Profession To The Next Level
This track is intended for coders looking to take their profession to the next level by gaining & mastering additional skills and competencies.

Take Your Coding Profession to the Next Level
8:10 a.m. – 9:10 a.m.

REGISTRATION & CONTINENTAL BREAKFAST

Identify Coding Red Flags in Government Audits
9:10 a.m. – 10:25 a.m. 
Annette Lee, RN, MS COS-C, HCS-D, Founder – Provider Insights, Inc.
Learn about the latest government audits and what auditors are homing in on. Learn about the timelines for when programs such as targeted probe-and-educate review could be rolled out to the entire country as well as hot-button issues that auditors have been pushing. You’ll also learn how to
work with your billing department to respond timely and effectively to ADRs and post-pay reviews, and make sure the entire team understands coding audit risks.

Tools: Quick reference regulatory impacts with coding & ADR checklist with emphasis on the areas impacting coding

NETWORKING & REFRESHMENT BREAK
10:25 a.m. – 10:45 a.m.

Coding Is the Key to Revenue Cycle Success
10:45 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. 
Melinda Gaboury, COS-C, Chief Executive Officer
Coders play an important role at several stages in the revenue cycle. Learn the pain points in coding and compliance — including OASIS reviews, diagnosis determinations, and more — that can prevent full and accurate payment. We’ll detail coding’s impact on PDGM, discuss OASIS and when coding is and isn’t required, and outline the key elements of PDGM claims and the calculation
of payments. You’ll leave with tools to identify inefficiencies and steps you can take to tune up your processes.

NETWORKING LUNCH—Provided
12:00 p.m.- 1:00 p.m.

EMRs: Conquer Coding Challenges & Recognize Benefits
1:00 p.m. – 2:15 p.m 
Karen Carter, RN, CPCO, CHCA, HCS-O, HCS-H, HCS-D, HCS-C, Regional Director, Jet Health Inc.
This session will deliver tips for overcoming constraints that agencies feel when working with their your agency’s EMRs. Learn how to overcome the lack of information available to the coding and documentation review specialists, information scattered in different databases, and limited character space for documentation. Develop workarounds for triggers such as multiple discipline evaluations and nonspecific diagnoses that aren’t specific.

Tool: EMR audit template

NETWORKING & REFRESHMENT BREAK
2:15 p.m. – 2:35 p.m.

Fun & Games: Train and Engage Coders in a Virtual World
2:35 p.m. – 3:50 p.m. 
Sherri Parson RN, HCS-D, HCS-O, COS-C, BCHH-C, HSC-H, Post-Acute Education Senior Manager with McBee Associates, Inc.
In this session, discover new ways to make coders’ and clinicians’ training more fun and interactive — even in a remote work environment. How do you connect coders and clinicians, make them feel appreciated, and train them remote? You’ll explore how agencies are using drive-through celebrations, coding texts, OASIS tips of the month, and more to ensure that all clinicians and coders have the training they need.

Fun & Games Part 2: Put Your Concepts Into Play
3:55 p.m. – 5:10 p.m. 
Sherri Parson RN, HCS-D, HCS-O, COS-C, BCHH-C, HSC-H, Post-Acute Education Senior Manager with McBee Associates, Inc.
Take a break from your notes and join in on the fun! This session will follow a format similar to the game show Jeopardy as it introduces a fun and interactive way to train coders and clinicians on key coding concepts such as the “code first” convention, coding late effects and sequela conditions, manifestation pairings and more!

NETWORKING RECEPTION
5:10 p.m. – 6:00 p.m. 

Track 1: Master Disease-Specific Coding

Master Disease-Specific Coding
8:10 a.m. – 9:05 a.m. 

CONTINENTAL BREAKFAST

Stay Ahead of the Game: Get the Latest From Coding Clinic
9:05 a.m. – 10:20 a.m. 
Nelly Leon-Chisen, RHIA, Executive Director, Coding and Classification/Executive Editor Coding Clinic Publications – American Hospital Association
Join the Coding Clinic's Nelly Leon-Chisen as she provides the latest updates on coding guidance so that you can ensure your coding is compliant.

Bonus: Submit your coding questions to mherr@decisionhealth.com by June 1, and we'll get them to Nelly so she can answer them during the conference. Please use “Nelly question” in your email’s subject line.

NETWORKING & REFRESHMENT BREAK
10:20 a.m. – 10:40 a.m. 

The First Cut Is the Deepest: Wounds, Part 1
10:40 a.m. – 11:55 a.m. 
J’non Griffin, RN, MHA, HCS-D, HCS-C, HCS-H, COS-C, President – Home Health Solutions, LLC
Take a comprehensive look at the patient to correctly identify and describe the wound being treated. Get answers to the most common questions around wounds. This session will energize you to follow the latest guidance and make sure coding and OASIS tell the same story about complicated wounds, from trauma wounds to burns to deep tissue injuries.

Tool: Quick tips for wound coding

NETWORKING LUNCH—Provided
11:55 a.m.- 12:55 p.m. 

Pour Some Sugar on Me: Diabetes Dos and Don’ts
12:55 p.m. – 2:10 p.m.
Arlynn Hansell, PT, HCS-D, HCS-H, HCS-O, COS-C, Owner – Therapy and More, LLC
Sift through details of what’s considered an allowable assumption versus situations when it’s necessary to query to ensure compliance in PDGM. Also, delve into which conditions can and cannot be linked to diabetes, and how to correctly sequence them. Bonus: Work through scenarios that will show how common mistakes can lead to lost money and compliance risks.

Tools: Diabetes coding quick tips

NETWORKING & REFRESHMENT BREAK
2:10 p.m. – 2:30 p.m. 

Under Pressure: Coding for Wounds in PDGM, Part 2
2:30 p.m. – 3:45 p.m. 
J’non Griffin, RN, MHA, HCS-D, HCS-C, HCS-H, COS-C, President – Home Health Solutions, LLC
Uncover when to code pressure ulcers as primary and how it impacts payments in PDGM. You’ll also decipher the difference between diabetes, venous, and arterial wounds, and learn how to handle situations when the patient has all of them. Plus, put the pieces of the puzzle together to see how wounds work in PDGM to determine primary groupings and comorbidity levels.

Tool: Quick tips for wounds

Scenario Workshop: How to Code Straight From the Chart
3:50 p.m. – 5:05 p.m. 
J’non Griffin, RN, MHA, HCS-D, HCS-C, HCS-H, COS-C, President – Home Health Solutions, LLC
Arlynn Hansell, PT, HCS-D, HCS-H, HCS-O, COS-C, Owner – Therapy and More, LLC
Work through patient cases from start to finish. You’ll use sample patient charts based on real-life examples and a coder’s notebook to practice how to complete the entire process, from the investigation, query, and OASIS review to correct coding directly from a sample patient chart.

Track 2: Take Your Coding Profession to the Next Level

Take Your Coding Profession to the Next Level
8:10 a.m. – 9:10 a.m. 

CONTINENTAL BREAKFAST

Establish Formal Clinical Documentation Integrity
9:10 a.m. – 10:25 a.m. 
Kimberly Searcy Gunter, BSN, MSN, RN, CDI-P, HCS-D, HCS-O, CDA – The Corridor Group
With the many initiatives and demonstrations CMS has initiated across healthcare settings, clean documentation is one of the key focus areas. And solid documentation can go a long way to prevent agency denials and support financial viability. In this session, you’ll learn where clinical documentation integrity (CDI) opportunities lie within an agency, how to promote buy-in, guidelines for agencies to follow, and how to get results.

Tool: Steps to CDI success

NETWORKING & REFRESHMENT BREAK
10:25 a.m. – 10:45 a.m. 

Stay Ahead of the Game: Get the Latest From Coding Clinic
10:45 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. 
Nelly Leon-Chisen, RHIA, Executive Director, Coding and Classification/Executive Editor Coding Clinic Publications – American Hospital Association
Join Coding Clinic's Nelly Leon-Chisen as she provides the latest updates on coding guidance so that you can ensure your coding is compliant.

Bonus: Submit your coding questions to mherr@decisionhealth.com by June 1, and we'll get them to Nelly so she can answer them during the conference. Please use “Nelly question” in your email’s subject line.

NETWORKING LUNCH—Provided
12:00 p.m.- 1:00 p.m.

What to Do When Coding Guidelines and Conventions Collide
1:00 p.m. – 2:15 p.m 
Brandi Whitemyer, RN, CDIP, COS-C, HCS-D, HCS-O, Consultant, home health and hospice coding expert
What should a coder do when the ICD-10 coding conventions conflict with a tabular guideline? As many as 80% of coding errors are a result of this conundrum. During this session, take a deep dive into this topic to understand when conventions supersede guidelines and/or tabular instruction.

Tool: ICD-10-CM decision-making tree tool for coding conventions and guidelines

NETWORKING & REFRESHMENT BREAK
2:15 p.m. – 2:35 p.m. 

OASIS Update for Coders
2:35 p.m. – 3:50 p.m. 
Karen Tibbs, RN, MS, HCS-D, COS-C, Senior Quality Manager – OASIS & Coding, McBee Associates
This session will walk you through some of the recent changes in official OASIS guidance, including the Q&As and more. Plus, find out what OASIS changes are coming down the pike and what you’ll need to know to continue to achieve consistency between the OASIS and coding.

Q&A With the Experts
3:55 p.m. – 5:10 p.m. 
Join conference speakers for a panel discussion and Q&A that talks about how the role of the coder and quality manager is changing as a result of PDGM and the pandemic. Get ideas for how to motivate and engage staff, train effectively, improve productivity, and more.

Track 1: Master Disease-Specific Coding

Master Disease-Specific Coding
8:00 a.m. – 9:00 a.m.

CONTINENTAL BREAKFAST

Make Complication Coding as Easy as ABC…123
9:00 a.m. – 10:15 a.m. 
Arlynn Hansell, PT, HCS-D, HCS-H, HCS-O, COS-C, Owner – Therapy and More, LLC
Break down the elusive 7th character convention to confidently decide when to use A, D, or S. Learn how to code complications such as devices, fractures, wounds, sequelae, and more.

Tool: Complication coding quick tips

NETWORKING & REFRESHMENT BREAK
10:15 a.m. – 10:35 a.m. 

Are You Ready for the HCS-D Exam?
10:35 a.m. – 11:50 a.m. 
J’non Griffin, RN, MHA, HCS-D, HCS-C, HCS-H, COS-C, President – Home Health Solutions, LLC
Arlynn Hansell, PT, HCS-D, HCS-H, HCS-O, COS-C, Owner – Therapy and More, LLC
During this session, you will take a 10-question exam with questions from each of the four testing domains used in the Home Care Coding Specialist – Diagnosis (HCS-D) exam. You’ll have a chance to participate in live polling where we will reveal the correct answers to exam questions, and you’ll receive an overview of the HCS-D exam so you know how to prepare. Get familiar with concepts and conventions that are important to know in advance of taking the exam.

Conference Adjourns
11:50 a.m. 

Track 2: Take Your Coding Profession to the Next Level

Take Your Coding Profession to the Next Level
8:05 a.m. – 9:05 a.m. 

CONTINENTAL BREAKFAST

Audit-proof Your Face-to-Face Documentation
9:05 a.m. – 10:20 a.m. 
Robert W. Markette Jr., JD, CHC, HCS-C, Attorney - Hall, Render, Killian, Heath & Lyman
Face-to face encounter documentation requirements for home health aren’t new, but that doesn’t mean they are easy to meet. If you haven’t mastered the art of securing proper documentation for these encounters, you could face ADR issues, pre-claim review problems, and audit trouble. Make sure you know the basics, what’s required, and the common pitfalls you’ll face in securing compliant documentation.

NETWORKING & REFRESHMENT BREAK
10:20 a.m. – 10:40 a.m.

Coding Under the Hospice Benefit
10:40 a.m. – 11:55 a.m. 
Brandi Whitemyer, RN, CDIP, COS-C, HCS-D, HCS-O, Consultant, home health and hospice coding expert
Collect key information and communicate with the hospice team to ensure fast and accurate coding. Coders will learn how to find the most pertinent information to identify the appropriate terminal diagnosis code that is both compliant with coding guidelines and agrees with the assignment of the diagnosis provided by the medical director of the hospice or other appropriate physician. Learn about changes in coding habits for hospice and about related vs. unrelated diagnoses.

Tool: Non-acceptable primary/terminal diagnoses for hospice

Conference Adjourns
11:55 a.m.