Speaking Engagements

January 31, 2012

Surviving the Transition to ICD-10: Practical Strategies for Home Care

Laura Gramenelles, Senior Manager, Simione Healthcare Consultants
Suzanne Sblendorio, Director, Healthcare Technology, Simione Healthcare Consultants

Webinar | Tuesday | Jan. 31, 2012 | 1:00 - 2:00 p.m.  ET

Prevent denials, delayed payments and productivity losses that could result from an uncalculated transition to ICD-10. 

Home Health Line presents the Surviving the Transition to ICD-10: Practical Strategies for Home Care webinar on Jan. 31, 2012 from 1 to 2 p.m. Eastern Standard Time.

Join Suzanne Sblendorio and Laura Gramenelles, to learn strategies for transitioning to ICD-10 while minimizing the financial risk by preparing you to:

• Identify the lessons learned from the implementation of HIPAA 5010. 
• Discern the differences between ICD-9 and ICD-10. 
• Learn the critical components of a transition plan including a gap analysis, identification of training needs, budget and workplan development. 
• Prevent productivity losses by identifying the changes that you need to make in your coding workflow, forms, documents and tools. 
• Avoid payment delays by assessing the readiness of your software vendors, clearinghouses and payers.

 

February 6, 2012

Marcus Welby No More: The New Visiting Physician Model

William Simione III (Moderator), Principal, Simione Healthcare Consultants
Maxine Hochhauser, CEO, AllianceCare
Robert Sowislo, COO, Visiting Physicians Association
Speaker TBD, Home Physicians

 

February 9, 2012

Survival of the Fittest: Proven Sales and Referral Management Strategies for 2012 and Beyond

Michael Ferris, Principal, Simione Healthcare Consultants, LLC

In the new world of home care, growing referrals takes on a whole new complexity.  Learn proven strategies to compete and win in 2012 and beyond.  This interactive workshop will demonstrate how you can increase referrals without increasing costs.  Drive more profitable case mix by using campaigns that position your organization as the logical choice for specific types of patients.  Learn how home health, private duty and hospice agencies are using these proven techniques to reach new levels of referral success. Attendees will roll up their sleeves to construct their own program ready to take home and implement.  Each attendee will receive the template used to design, implement and execute the sales campaign. If you have competition, you cannot afford to miss this program! 

 

February 15, 2012

11th Annual Power Home Health Referrals Pre-conference

Mike Ferris, Principal, Simione Healthcare Consultants
Kara Osborne, Senior Project Manager, Simione Healthcare Consultants

This must-attend pre-conference workshop with experts Mike Ferris and Kara Osborne engages you in a 5-step process that begins before you arrive and concludes giving you the strategies, tools, techniques and confidence to leverage key accounts into a booming business.

 

February 16, 2012

Eliminate barriers to appropriate hospice admissions

Katherine Northcutt, Senior Project Manager, Simione Healthcare Consultants

2:45 – 3:45 p.m.

Gain more than 1,000 additional hospice referrals a year by adopting a few quick and easy customer-service strategies. Twenty-five year home health consultant Katherine Northcutt will share the proven customer-service best practices – including training your admission nurses to respond to the caller’s needs and adopting a policy to visit every caller – that helped 12 separate hospice clients boost referrals.

 

February 17, 2012

Let CRM improve homecare sales staff productivity

Darcey Trescone, RN, BSN, Senior Manager

9:45 – 10:45 a.m.

Help your sales reps manage their time and territory, differentiate your high-achieving sales staff from your underperformers and minimize the financial risk of employee turnover by switching to a sophisticated electronic CRM program. Darcey Trescone, Senior Manager, will walk you through understanding the value of the CRM tool and key considerations in selecting, implementing and measuring success.

 

February 28, 2012

Kicking the Tires: Regulatory Due Diligence in Home Health and Hospice M&A

Betty L. Gordon
Ari J. Markenson

Session Q: 11am-12:00pm

• Process and timing for conducting diligence and how to frame the scope of inquiry and engagement
• How to form diligence requests and communicate them to the target
• How to conduct diligence and assess risks
• Format, content and process for reporting diligence findings to the client

 

March 14, 2012

HCA Partners with Simione Consultants to offer The Financial Monitor

William Simione, Principal, Simione Healthcare Consultants

1:15pm – 2:45pm

William Simione, Principal, Simione Consultants

During the session, Mr. Simione will introduce participants to The Financial Monitor which is a quarterly report that includes national and state Medicare (and Medicaid) benchmarks for clients consisting of real‐time statistics, allowing users to analyze their performance against current markets and all provider types. Participating HCA members will receive valuable information which will help increase operational efficiency and success. As an added benefit, HCA will receive an aggregate data report to effectively advocate on your behalf.

 

March 29, 2012

Accountable Care Organizations as Part of Health Care Reform: What it Means to Hospice Providers

Lisa M. Lapin, Principal, Simione Healthcare Consultants

3:30-4:30 PM

Objectives:

1)      Describe what an ACO is, how they work and who’s eligible to participate

2)      Identify the benefits hospice brings to an ACO

3)      Illustrate how to position yourself for ACOs in your service area

4)      Acquire tools to build relationships today to secure future revenue opportunities.

 

Description:

Now that the Pioneer ACOs have been announced, more is known about the specifics of ACOs.  How does a hospice secure its seat at the table?  This session will examine the individuals, groups and entities as well as types of relationships and goals of ACOs, and how the inclusion of hospice partners  benefits them.  Positioning a hospice program to build strong relationships with existing or potential ACOs will help to secure future hospice revenues.  Time will be spent discussing the future and the opportunities on the horizon.

 

March 29, 2012

"Just Fix My Intake." The Surprising Root of the Problem and Even More Surprising Solutions

Katherine Northcutt, RN

Area of Emphasis: Access, Community Engagement and Marketing
Learning Objectives:
1. Perform a thorough analysis of their current customer service level as it relates to processing referrals 
2. Define a strategy involving the entire hospice team for improving access to care and re-branding the intake department
3. Execute an agency wide customer service strategy and monitor ongoing progress towards established goals in the referral and admission process

 

April 23, 2012

Home Health M&A 2012: Calculate your agency’s value today, versus tomorrow

Shelly Berman, Principal, Simione Healthcare Consultants, Hamden, CT and Don Cummins, president, Stoneridge Partners, Fort Myers, FL

Calculate your agency’s value today, versus tomorrow

 

Speakers: Shelly Berman, Principal, Simione Healthcare Consultants, Hamden, CT. and  Don Cummins, president, Stoneridge Partners, Fort Myers, FL

1:00 – 2:30 p.m.

 

Discover the tangible and intangible factors and key performance indicators (KPI) that drive valuations, what the current multiples are and how they continue to change due to pending Medicare payment cuts, CMS auditor scrutiny and more. You will see examples of recent transactions and find out what drove those valuations and why some deals were above or below the norm.

 

April 23, 2012

Home Health M&A 2012: Create a culture of compliance to captivate buyers

Dolly M. Curley, RN, BSHCA, BSN, DABFN, LNCC, Senior Manager Compliance Services

Create a culture of compliance to captivate buyers

 3:00 – 4:15 p.m.

Increase the value of your agency by adopting a successful compliance program – one of the crucial factors interested buyers use to evaluate potential acquisition candidates. But having a compliance plan isn’t enough. This must-attend session will give you the tools you need  to create a culture of compliance that is adequate to meet today’s regulatory challenges, puts you at the top of buyers’  wish lists and ensures your agency can withstand any auditor’s scrutiny.

 

April 24, 2012

Home Health M&A 2012: Master marketing plans for a successful acquisition

Mike Ferris, Principal, Sales, Marketing & Referral Management Consulting Solutions Team, Simione Healthcare Consultants, Chapel Hill, NC

Master marketing plans for a successful acquisition

3:00 – 4:00 p.m.

Build a successful marketing and sales department. You’ll not only attract new business but you’ll also increase the value of your agency. Impress buyers with the right percentage of revenue going to marketing, an effective compensation program to incentivize sales staff and reasonable and enforceable non-compete agreements. Plus, measure your referral risk with Mike Ferris’ proven risk factor scale.

 

April 24, 2012

Home Health M&A 2012: Due diligence part 1: Clinical and financial essentials

David Berman, Principal, Simione Healthcare Consultants, Hamden, CT and Betty Gordon, Principal, Simione Healthcare Consultants, Westborough, MA

Due diligence part 1: Clinical and financial essentials

9:45 – 11:00 a.m.

Take home a due diligence checklist of ways to improve your current practices to save time and headaches in this critical stage of the deal. This in-depth review of your clinical and financial records will make or break the deal. Savvy sellers start getting their houses in order long before any negotiation takes place – you should too. In this session, find out what clinical documentation you’ll need and what the buyers will be looking for. You’ll also learn the revenue recognition and billing standards that earn top marks.  

 

April 24, 2012

Home Health M&A 2012: Due diligence part 2: IT and legal prep

Darcey Trescone, Senior Manager, Simione Consultants, Las Vegas, NV and Les Levinson, Partner, Edwards Wildman Palmer, NY

Due diligence part 2: IT and legal prep

11:15 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.

Don’t let technical or legal glitches kill the deal. Learn how  your  technology can influence purchase decisions and what buyers are looking for  in an “accountable care” environment. This session will guide you thru a due diligence report card and empower you to navigate the complex, legal issues associated with agency mergers and acquisitions. Take home samples of all the documentation from the letter of understanding through the purchase and sale agreement so you’re ready when it’s time to sell.

 

May 1, 2012

E-6 Modeling the Impact of Hospice Payment Reform For: Administrators, CFO’s, Financial/Billing Supervisors, Billing Staff and Compliance Officers

David Berman, Principal, CPA, CVA, Simione Healthcare Consultants

This session will focus on anticipated reimbursement changes under the Medicare hospice benefit. Specifically, the
session will discuss the “U-shaped” payment method and its anticipated impact. Also, the speaker will discuss hospice
benchmarking and the meaning of the benchmarks. Lastly, sound financial management techniques will be discussed.

 

May 2, 2012

H-2 Industry Prospectus: A Review of the Financial Health of Home Care and Hospice

Rob Simione, CPA, Vice President of Simione Financial Monitor and David Berman, Principal, CPA, CVA, Simione Healthcare Consultants

This session will include a review of financial reporting and benchmarking for the Home Health and Hospice
industry. It will include information regarding what key financial metrics an agency should be analyzing and how they should be
using industry comparisons to measure their performance. Simione will also share some financial benchmarks from the Simione
Financial Monitor.

 

May 17, 2012

8:30am Minnesota Homecare Association: The Inside Scoop: Establish Home Care Benchmarks that Reach Organizational Goals

Bill Simione, III, Principal

 

August 6, 2012

Decision Health 10th Annual Coding Summit

Laura Gramenelles, Director of Clinical M&A services and Suzanne Sblendorio, Director, Healthcare Information Technology

You can’t wait any longer. Learn how to start preparing for the financial and operational implications of the ICD-10 transition. Start with an overview of the current processes that are impacted by the codes, including intake and billing. Then delve into the specific areas that you will need to assess to minimize the impact of ICD-10 to your bottom line. More specifically:

 

Project the financial impact of the switch to I-10 codes:Learn how the ICD-10 case-mix codes will impact your current HHRGs, and whether the transition really will be "revenue neutral," or if should you expect to lose money.

·         Create a transition plan and budget: Get the critical components of a transition plan including a gap and cost analysis, identification of training needs, budget and work plan development.

 

·         Evaluate the readiness of your software vendor: Delve into the kinds of reports you should be tracking, and the costs, training and timelines for testing. Also learn who in your agency is best suited to be your liaison to the vendor.

•  Assess the impact of decreased productivity on your accounts receivable status: Start by evaluating your current coding team; estimate how long a productivity decline will last and what steps you should take to reduce the effect. 

 

September 19, 2012

Decision Health National Quality Outcomes & OASIS-C Conference, San Antonio, TX

Laura Gramenelles, Director of Clinical M&A services and Suzanne Sblendorio, Director, Healthcare Information Technology

  Train the Trainer for the ICD-10 Transition,  2:45-4:45pm

When CMS pulls the trigger on ICD-10, the transition will be more than an inconvenience. It will be a sea of change touching every part of your organization. By putting your financial and operational house in order now, you will be able to withstand the impact. This must-attend session delivers a detailed ICD-10 roll-out program. Return to your agency with a plan for creating a transition team, outlining a training timeline, identifying what forms and policies need to get updated, working with your software vendor and assessing the impact on productivity and your bottom line.

 

October 23, 2012

NAHC Annual Meeting- 512 Advanced Sales Skills Required: Successfully Navigating the ACO Maze-2:30pm-4:00pm

Mike Ferris, Principal, Simione Healthcare Consultants

Accountable care organizations (ACOs) and other postacute bundling methods will require more-sophisticated sales abilities. Home care and hospice agencies need to learn how to grow and thrive in the new world of health care.

 

October 23, 2012

NAHC Annual Meeting-605-Mobile Platforms in Home Care: Impact and Opportunities, 2;45pm-4:45pm

Robert Rossi, BSBA, Healthcare Technology Consultant, Simione
Healthcare Consultants, Hamden, CT; Raj Shetye, MS, MBA, Sr. VP & Chief Information Officer, LHC Group, Lafayette, LA; Suzanne Sblendorio, BS, MA,Director, Healthcare Information

 Mobile computing platforms can have a profound impact on usability, caregiver empowerment, patient communication and learning, accountability and continuity of care. They also present new opportunities for improving efficiency and decision support.