Question

Please select one post acute setting and do some research on the patient population, services they provide, LOS, reasoning for patient admission. Then search for one article within the past 2 years regarding your post acute setting and their reimbursement (it can be regarding payment models, fraud and abuse, cost changes etc). Include the link to you article.

Answer 1

Post-acute care setting is a growing and essential health and social service, accounting for more $2.7 trillion spent on personal health care, and, of that, almost 15% of total Medicare spending.Long-term care hospitals (LTCHs) furnish extended medical and rehabilitative care to individuals with clinically complex problems, such as multiple acute or chronic conditions, that need hospital-level care for relatively extended periods.

Long term acute care hhospitals provideprovide a much higher level of care than nursing homes and skilled nursing facilities (SNFs). An LTACH is similar to an intensive care unit (ICU). Because LTACHs are hospitals, they have 24-hour physician coverage along with many specialized services on-site, including:

• Full Nursing Staff
• Physical ,occupation,speech and rwpiratory therapy
• Dietary
• Pharmacy
• Laboratory
• Radiology

The amount of time spend on LTCHs depends on there illness injury and treatment goals.physicians collaborate with patients and their loved ones to create an individualized plan of care to achieve those unique goals.

Patients do not receive hospice care while staying in an LTACH. Long-term acute care hospitals focus on getting patients back to their life in their community. Patients and their families choose LTACHs because they offer aggressive treatment for the disease or injury.While most patients in an LTACH are quite ill, early mobility is essential to a patient’s long-term outcome. LTACHs have therapists on staff who provide services specific to this level of care. Patients in an LTACH may begin receiving physical and/or occupational therapy even while on a ventilator

LTACH focusses on critical care patients.Nurse and staffs are specially trained t handle critical patients.Patients can admit from a doctor’s office or even their home, if needed.LTACHs have contracts with numerous insurance companies. LTACHs work directly with insurance providers to ensure coverage prior to a patient’s admission.

https://www.tricare-west.com/content/hnfs/home/tw/prov/claims/billing_tips/ltch_irf.html