Nhpco Podcast

While 2020 brought changes that many are still adjusting to, this upcoming year is also shaping up to be quite active for hospice and palliative professionals. We're starting off 2021 with a two-part series on the things you can (and should be) considering this year. Part 1 focuses on the most important regulatory and policy components with Judi Lund Person and Mark Slobodien.

The importance of self-care and burnout has long been prominent in our field but this year has put more of an emphasis on it than ever before. Jon R. sits down with Carla Cheatham of the Carla Cheatham Consulting Group, LLC, and NHPCO COO, Ben Marcantonio to discuss concrete takeaways for leaders to manage their teams and themselves as mindfully as possible. As Dr. Cheatham tells us in this episode, providers not prioritizing self-care makes you "ineffective at best and dangerous at worst".

Providing quality care has never been more important, and it is quickly becoming a necessity for your business operations. After two years of consulting with national experts and examining member needs, NHPCO is launching the Quality Connections program in January 2021. We have developed this program to help providers navigate not just the COP's but all components of quality that will give them a competitive edge and national recognition.

Our post election episode from 2016 has been one of our most popular and we are excited to bring you this discussion to mark our 100th episode. Jon R. sits down with NHPCO's Director of Legislative Affairs, Mark Slobodien and Andrew Woods, Chairman of the Liberty Partners Group. Hear a discussion on what we know now and some things to expect over the next four years.

Quality reporting changes are coming and will be effective January 1, 2021. Jon R. sits down with Jennifer Kennedy and Judi Lund Person to discuss these changes, a couple head scratchers included and what providers need to know and can be doing now.

This episode, originally aired in March 2018 has withstood the test of time. November is National Hospice Month and the perfect time to revisit this conversation. Starting with a reminder of the federal Patient Self-Determination Act of 1990, Judi, Jennifer and Jon talk about the importance of advance care planning. They offer guidance for the hospice team given the importance of this topic on caring for patients and their families and answer the question “can hospice physicians bill for ACP discussions?”.

Judi Lund Person tells us at the beginning of this episode that getting into the weeds on reimbursement is fun, and we put her to the test. The FY2021 began on October 1, which is when the Medicare rates and wage index went into effect, hear what's new and what else is in this year's rule.

Jon R. sits down with Annie Acs to analyze NHPCO's 2020 Facts and Figures Report. This report is the only report of its kind that is available free-of-charge to the public and provides an overview of hospice care delivery in the U.S. with specific information on hospice patient characteristics, location and level of care, Medicare hospice spending, hospice provider characteristics, and more. Learn what hospices can do with this information and why it's so important to understand the bigger picture of who we're serving.