Inpatient rehab evaluations in acute care

[Guest guest]

Dear Listserve:

We are an IRF that is a part of a larger acute care hospital. We are

having some difficulty getting the patients admitted into rehab in a

timely manner, distracting from our ability to complete the therapy

evaluations on the same day as admission. Does anyone know if we can

send our inpatient rehab therapists to the acute care setting to

complete the inpatient rehab evaluations if they are simply held up due

to a transport issue? We would then document the evaluation after the

patient is placed in the computer system when they physically arrive.

Obviously, this is somewhat out of the ordinary, but I haven't seen any

regulations that would prevent doing so. Is anyone else aware of any

regulations that would prevent doing this?

Thanks,

Curtis

[Guest guest]

The regulations actually are pretty clear about this. In the CMS second

" follup to the Nov. 12 training call " Q & A they state the following:

Question #4 " Clarification on whether or not a therapist can complete

the therapy evaluation of the patient while that patient is still in the

referring hospital (for example, the acute care hospital) waiting to be

transferred to the IRF and whether or not therapies done in the

referring hospital count towards demonstrating the intensity of therapy

requirement if performed on the same day that a patient is discharged

from the referring hospital and admitted to the IRF.

Answer: Evaluations and/or therapy done in the referring hospital do not

count in the IRF for purposes of meeting the intensity of therapy

requirement. "

Remember, however, that therapy can be initiated within 36 hours of the

midnight of the admission, so it is not critical to perform those evals

on the day of admission.

Bob Perlson

Director, Rehabilitation

Rogue Valley Medical Center

Medford, Oregon

Inpatient rehab evaluations in acute care

Dear Listserve:

We are an IRF that is a part of a larger acute care hospital. We are

having some difficulty getting the patients admitted into rehab in a

timely manner, distracting from our ability to complete the therapy

evaluations on the same day as admission. Does anyone know if we can

send our inpatient rehab therapists to the acute care setting to

complete the inpatient rehab evaluations if they are simply held up due

to a transport issue? We would then document the evaluation after the

patient is placed in the computer system when they physically arrive.

Obviously, this is somewhat out of the ordinary, but I haven't seen any

regulations that would prevent doing so. Is anyone else aware of any

regulations that would prevent doing this?

Thanks,

Curtis

[Guest guest]

The regulations actually are pretty clear about this. In the CMS second

" follup to the Nov. 12 training call " Q & A they state the following:

Question #4 " Clarification on whether or not a therapist can complete

the therapy evaluation of the patient while that patient is still in the

referring hospital (for example, the acute care hospital) waiting to be

transferred to the IRF and whether or not therapies done in the

referring hospital count towards demonstrating the intensity of therapy

requirement if performed on the same day that a patient is discharged

from the referring hospital and admitted to the IRF.

Answer: Evaluations and/or therapy done in the referring hospital do not

count in the IRF for purposes of meeting the intensity of therapy

requirement. "

Remember, however, that therapy can be initiated within 36 hours of the

midnight of the admission, so it is not critical to perform those evals

on the day of admission.

Bob Perlson

Director, Rehabilitation

Rogue Valley Medical Center

Medford, Oregon

Inpatient rehab evaluations in acute care

Dear Listserve:

We are an IRF that is a part of a larger acute care hospital. We are

having some difficulty getting the patients admitted into rehab in a

timely manner, distracting from our ability to complete the therapy

evaluations on the same day as admission. Does anyone know if we can

send our inpatient rehab therapists to the acute care setting to

complete the inpatient rehab evaluations if they are simply held up due

to a transport issue? We would then document the evaluation after the

patient is placed in the computer system when they physically arrive.

Obviously, this is somewhat out of the ordinary, but I haven't seen any

regulations that would prevent doing so. Is anyone else aware of any

regulations that would prevent doing this?

Thanks,

Curtis

[Guest guest]

The regulations actually are pretty clear about this. In the CMS second

" follup to the Nov. 12 training call " Q & A they state the following:

Question #4 " Clarification on whether or not a therapist can complete

the therapy evaluation of the patient while that patient is still in the

referring hospital (for example, the acute care hospital) waiting to be

transferred to the IRF and whether or not therapies done in the

referring hospital count towards demonstrating the intensity of therapy

requirement if performed on the same day that a patient is discharged

from the referring hospital and admitted to the IRF.

Answer: Evaluations and/or therapy done in the referring hospital do not

count in the IRF for purposes of meeting the intensity of therapy

requirement. "

Remember, however, that therapy can be initiated within 36 hours of the

midnight of the admission, so it is not critical to perform those evals

on the day of admission.

Bob Perlson

Director, Rehabilitation

Rogue Valley Medical Center

Medford, Oregon

Inpatient rehab evaluations in acute care

Dear Listserve:

We are an IRF that is a part of a larger acute care hospital. We are

having some difficulty getting the patients admitted into rehab in a

timely manner, distracting from our ability to complete the therapy

evaluations on the same day as admission. Does anyone know if we can

send our inpatient rehab therapists to the acute care setting to

complete the inpatient rehab evaluations if they are simply held up due

to a transport issue? We would then document the evaluation after the

patient is placed in the computer system when they physically arrive.

Obviously, this is somewhat out of the ordinary, but I haven't seen any

regulations that would prevent doing so. Is anyone else aware of any

regulations that would prevent doing this?

Thanks,

Curtis