What Are Your Pressing Legal and Regulatory Issues? Let Us Know What You Need!

Dear Hospice Readers,

Over the course of the last several years, we have provided regular updates on issues of concern to hospices. These have included articles on medical director contracting, managed care issues, the use of nurse practitioners, fraud and abuse, pre-hospice and free care, admission criteria and discharge planning and a host of other issues. Sometimes our articles are based on questions we have received from clients. Sometimes they are based on questions received during presentations to hospice professionals. Sometimes we perceive a need for information based on new regulations or regulatory interpretations. What we have found is that when hospice leaders get together to discuss issues, the questions and the dialogue are much more fruitful within the context of real life problem-solving.

Now, we would like to take some time to find out from our readers what issues are of highest concern. We ask that you take a few moments to let us know what you would like to hear about in the next calendar year. These articles are a free service of Reinhart Boerner Van Deuren's Hospice and Palliative Care Practice Group. We find that it helps us stay in touch with our clients and friends. 1. What are the five biggest legal and regulatory issues facing your hospice today? (Please rank in order with 1 being the most important and 5 being the least important.) Only rank your top five.

• ___ 1. Preparing for the new Conditions of Participation.
• ___ 2. Dealing with competition and knowing what is permissible under the fraud and abuse laws.
• ___ 3. Knowing how to develop new programs such as palliative care.
• ___ 4. Contracting with nursing facilities.
• ___ 5. Contracting with hospitals.
• ___ 6. Meeting the current Conditions of Participation.
• ___ 7. Dealing with ADRs and claim appeals.
• ___ 8. Employment law issues.
• ___ 9. Dealing with employee benefits, regulatory issues.
• ___ 10. OSHA.
• ___ 11. Disaster preparedness.
• ___ 12. Corporate compliance planning and implementation.
• ___ 13. Preparing for an inpatient facility/understanding the rules and regulations.
• ___ 14. Ongoing HIPAA compliance.
• ___ 15. Utilization of nurse practitioners.
• ___ 16. Contracting with medical directors and other hospice physicians.
• ___ 17. Vendor contracting in general.
• patient.
• ___ 19. Understanding the difference between a revocation and a discharge.
• ___ 20. Advance directives: what to do with patients who do not want a DNR order.
• ___ 21. Bio-ethical issues in general.
• ___ 22. Dealing with multi-state regulations.
• ___ 23. What to do when the government shows up unannounced.
• ___ 24. Protecting QAPI analyses from public disclosure.
• ___ 25. Other.

Please provide additional comments here and fax your responses to Reinhart Boerner Van Deuren Hospice & End of Life Practice Group c/o Pat Peterson at (608) 229-2100.

Hospice and end of life care have never been more important; legal and regulatory issues have never been more complex. Thank you so much for your response.