Therapy STARS Project

Standardized Tools, Assessment and Reassessment Strategies

Fazzi Associates has reviewed thousands of therapy notes over the last several years.  One thing is clear… agencies are still addressing major issues with both utilization and documentation content.  The average financial risk per case in which therapy is involved stands at over $1,100.00. Considering the number of patients receiving therapy in even a small agency, this level of risk can quickly escalate to a significant loss for agencies who are not prepared. 

Fazzi is seeking 50 agencies to participate in a national therapy improvement project designed to help agencies develop and implement effective strategies for improving utilization and therapy documentation content.  Specifically, goals of this project are to help agencies:

• Decrease financial risk related to therapy documentation by a minimum of 50%
• Create a standardized documentation review process to ensure ongoing compliance
• Provide consistent education for clinical and review staff on documentation issues
• Develop a clear understanding of current utilization patterns and agency specific factors that impact volume

Why a Project?

Many agencies have provided education to staff on the importance of documentation and solid clinical judgment and yet struggle to sustain gains in the level of performance.  Ongoing record review consumes resources too scarce for agencies to spare over a long period of time.  In addition, the implementation of the mandatory reassessments in April 2011 increased the intensity of scrutiny on compliance not only with content but also timing in relation to both calendar days and literal visit counts. 

In order to help agencies of all sizes develop effective strategies to manage this complex issue, Fazzi Associates has launched this one of a kind project.  As part of this project, we will work with you to help you make improvements.  You will receive the support and training you need to achieve positive outcomes.

What's Included?

Over the ten months of the project, participants will receive:

• Two therapy audits:  An initial therapy audit to determine current level of risk at the start of the project and a final audit at the end of the project to determine impact
• Five educational webinar training sessions. Topics include:
  • Therapy Documentation for the Clinician
  • Relevant  Therapy Tests and Measures
  • Documentation Review Training for non-Therapists
  • Managing Therapy Reassessments
  • Therapy Utilization Management for Outcomes
• A one hour private phone consultation each quarter with our therapy expert staff (3 in total).
• Membership in the monthly Therapy Roundtable

Eligibility

Agencies must be Medicare certified.

Cost and Other Considerations

By limiting participation, Fazzi Associates can provide senior level support to participating agencies while keeping the participation fee to a minimum. 

Participants in the study receive significantly reduced fees for the project services.   Pricing for the trainings, private consultation calls, and Roundtable membership (one site) is $1,500.00* for the ten month period of the study.  In addition, participants will receive a discounted “real time” therapy audit cost of $150.00/record of 10% of your agency’s average Medicare census.

*Current Therapy Roundtable members will receive a $200 fee reduction.  Membership period will not be changed and renewal is required if expiration occurs during the time of the study.  Additional sites will be charged at a fee of $400 per site.