|
OOTA has been working hard these last months to help prepare our members to navigate changes in skilled nursing facilities (SNFs) brought forth by the new Patient Driven Payment Model (PDPM) that launched October 1, 2019. Our role as an association is: to monitor legislation impacting occupational therapy practitioners, students, and consumers; to advocate for the role of occupational therapy in all practice settings; and to provide you, OOTA members, with valuable resources and education. We wanted to reach out to you directly to let you know we are very concerned over recent accounts that occupational therapy practitioners (as well as our physical therapy and speech pathology colleagues) have lost jobs, had their hours or salary reduced, or report being required to provide significant and/or inappropriate levels of group and concurrent therapy to patients following PDPM implementation this week. As we have previously reported, CMS made it clear they will be closely watching how therapy is utilized during and after this transition to ensure patient care quality and outcomes are not negatively impacted. On a national level, the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA) has taken the below steps to address these concerns: On October 2nd, AOTA, APTA, and ASHA shared with CMS officials the stories we are hearing about SNF layoffs and policy changes. We also voiced our concerns that Medicare beneficiaries may be harmed if they do not have access to the medically necessary skilled therapy that they need. CMS will be monitoring therapy service provision under PDPM at the national, regional, state, and facility levels. Significant changes in the amount of therapy provided to SNF patients under PDPM could result in notifications to the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General for further investigation. Please share your PDPM experiences with us at [email protected] so AOTA may continue to monitor these issues. Include the name of your employer, your state, and the specific situation or policy being implemented as a result of PDPM. For updates, go to Skilled Nursing Facilities Patient Driven Payment Model Web page. (Please note: You do not have to be an AOTA member to submit your experience to AOTA.) On a state and local level, OOTA has planned these steps to address PDPM’s impact in Ohio on our members impacted by these changes. 1) If your position or practice has been negatively impacted by PDPM, we would like to know. You can reach out to AOTA as noted above and also copy us at [email protected]. We will gather information for Ohio-specific practitioners to share with AOTA and CMS as appropriate. (Please note: You do not have to be an OOTA member to submit your experience to OOTA.) 2) Understanding the new payment model is an important first step to empower you as practitioners to advocate for your practice and your patients within the new model. We would like to encourage all members to become as educated as possible on PDPM. One avenue to accomplish this is with the 1.5 CEU webinar available through OOTA. Additional resources can also be found below:
3) We will have PDPM educational sessions and the Older Adults SIS Roundtable at the OOTA Annual Conference in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio on October 18-19, 2019. We encourage you to attend the conference and these sessions in particular to voice your opinions and get additional updated information from colleagues, OOTA, and AOTA representatives. If you have other suggestions or wish to become more involved as an OOTA volunteer, let us know! We will continue to provide updates on this important issue as we have them. In the meantime, please look to our website and social media pages for new information.
Becky Finni, DHS, OTR/L, RAC-CT President, Ohio Occupational Therapy Association
NEW: OOTA Phone and Fax Number Change New Webinar on Demand!
$10 for OOTA Members $30 for Non-Members Earn 1.5 CEUs Once registered, you will receive a link to the video, the handout and the post test. After you complete the video and the post test, your continuing education certificate will be automatically generated. If you do not see your certificate within 10 minutes after completing the survey, check your spam inbox.
|
