What’s ahead for EMS? Welcome to 2013 and the start of a new era in the way EMS is compensated for its services. The election is behind us, and, like it or not, healthcare reform is here to stay. The ambitious aims of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) will continue to be […]
Result could affect dispatch communications & coding The miscoding of an emergency call in Skagit County, Wash., resulted in a lawsuit that may change the way in which courts look at immunity for 9-1-1 dispatch centers. After seven years of litigation, the Washington Supreme Court ruled in November 2012 that a wrongful death lawsuit filed […]
Many EMS managers are familiar with the concept of benchmarking. Whether used for monitoring and improving fi nancial performance, clinical care or other key areas of EMS operations, the consistent measurement of defined parameters over time can yield critical information for management decision-making. With Medicare and Medicaid audits, investigations, overpayment recoveries and other enforcement activity reaching an all-time high, EMS managers must add a new set of metrics to their tool kit: compliance benchmarking.
More important than ever to ‘get your house in order’ This partnership puts criminals on notice that we will find them and stop them before they steal healthcare dollars. —U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius In late July, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced a new public-private […]
Provisions that can protect your agency Ambulance companies unfortunately were not included in the “meaningful use” financial incentive program established by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA). Nevertheless, because of the requirements of their customers and the need to perform efficiently in an electronic world, a tremendous proliferation of electronic patient care report […]
Is there an ethical obligation to disclose? The ethical obligation to disclose medical errors is well recognized in most areas of medicine. Concealing a medical error may violate ethical codes. The American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP), in its clinical and practice management guidelines, has indicated that emergency physicians should provide prompt and accurate information […]
Documentation is part of the job As part of my job as an EMS attorney, I spend a lot of time providing documentation training to ambulance services and EMS agencies. Many of the administrators who engage our firm for this purpose tell us that one of the most difficult continuing challenges they face is the […]
A landmine for providers One of the provisions in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) that has had the greatestpractical effect on ambulance providers is the so-called “60-Day Rule,” which requires all healthcare providers who receive reimbursement from Medicare and other government programs to report and return any “overpayment” within: (a) 60 days after […]
What you should know about negligence Many of us have heard the highly sensationalized stories of patients being assessed by EMS as deceased, who ultimately turn out to still be alive. A North Carolina Court of Appeals case published in 2011 demonstrates how one court handled such a case when an accident victim brought a […]
A critical aspect of compliance In my January column, I wrote about subpoenas recently served on several ambulance companies by the Department of Justice (DOJ), seeking detailed information about facility contracts, pricing and costs. This month, I want to focus on one particular compliance strategy—the performance of a total cost analysis for ambulance services that […]
App Store Links
EMS Insider Newsletter
Inside Current Issue
Implementing a Health Information Exchange
Documentation Differences
SARS-Like Virus a Global Threat
Recall Alert
EMS Admin and Leadership
- Key Recommendations from the AHA CPR Quality Consensus Statement
- The Cinderella Story of the Memphis Fire Department’s EMS System
EMS News
- Three Dead in Shooting at Maryland Mall
- Three Dead, Over 20 Hurt in Indiana Pileup
EMS Training
- The Cinderella Story of the Memphis Fire Department’s EMS System
- Pass the EMS Profession on Through Mentoring
EMS Featured Articles
- How a Cautious Approach to TBI Patients May Help Reduce Incidents Second Impact Syndrome
- How to Recognize & Treat Heart Block