Featured Article
February 25, 2021
Life Expectancy Trends: SDoH Impose Trauma amid the Pandemic
By Ellen Fink-Samnick MSW, ACSW, LCSW, CCM, CRP Drug overdose deaths were another influencer. Amid last week’s hottest reports was new data from the National Center for Health Statistics. While it was expected that COVID-19 would dramatically impact life expectancy across populations, the data for those persons most vulnerable was alarming. The first six months of 2020 revealed…
February 17, 2021
COVID-19 Vaccine Distribution for Older Adults in Crisis
By Ellen Fink-Samnick MSW, ACSW, LCSW, CCM, CRP Older adults continue to be at risk during the pandemic. COVID-19 vaccine distribution has prompted headaches across the country. However, older adults have been especially challenged with access; those who “have less” and are dealing with economic and/or health limitations, as well as family and peer support, are struggling. For…
This is the first of many reports to come on the topic of SDoH. It’s just February, but a steady stream of reports and surveys touting the top social determinants of health (SDoH) and mental health (SDoMH) for 2021 have already begun to appear. First up is the 2021 Consumer…
February 3, 2021
Should There be a National Standard for Certification of Auditors?
By Edward Roche, PhD, JD Certify the certifiers. Have you ever been in a Medicare hearing and realized the person testifying for the auditor does not understand what they are talking about? Recently, I was in such a hearing. A number of claims filed by my client had been rejected because of poor documentation. Now,…
Failure to integrate information systems leaves New Yorkers seeking COVID-19 vaccination out of luck. EDITOR’S NOTE: This is the first in a series of articles called “Cyber Watch,” produced by RACmonitor and authored by Edward Roche. New York City is supposed to be one of the most advanced data processing…
Documentation should be concise information, justifying the acuity of an inpatient level of care when appropriate. Statements that physician documentation needs improvement are always being made. These thoughts come from many levels: executives, nurses, utilization review, quality, clinical documentation integrity specialists (CDISs), physician advisors, and so many others. For years,…
January 14, 2021
Deepening Disparities Continue for Vulnerable Populations
By Ellen Fink-Samnick MSW, ACSW, LCSW, CCM, CRP A preview of issues on the SDoH Radar for 2021. We are less than two weeks into 2021, but the priority for healthcare organizations continues to be … wait for it … the social determinants of health (SDoH) and mental health (SDoMH). The industry’s hot-ticket item, pre-pandemic, has only grown…
The move is just one of many regulatory tweaks being made amid the looming presidential transition. In a landmark move made amid a flurry of other regulatory revisions affecting the healthcare industry, federal officials announced that they are proposing changes to the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act’s (HIPAA’s) Privacy…