12th Annual Observation Management Summit

According to the American College of Physician Executives, nearly 36% of hospitals in the United States have dedicated Observation Units. As CMS continues to update rules and regulations, hospitals are finding it more important to develop an Observation Unit. In this workshop, explore the steps necessary to build an Observation Unit, the goals to ensure its success, as well as ways to overcome common challenges that may stand in the way.

• Analyze the financial, personnel, and time investment required to implement an Observation Unit
• Administration buy-in
• Potential overhead cost
• Bed placement
• Staff training
• Outline baseline goals to ensure success and sustainability, such as:
• Length-of-stay per patient in hours
• Number of patients per week
• Number of Condition Code 44 cases
• Percentage of patients screened by the Case Management Department
• Discover the difference in patient outcomes in a virtual or co-horted unit
• Outline effective staff models to prevent burnout and poor quality of care
• Engage and educate staff of the benefits of an Observation Unit
• Identify major diagnoses that are best treated within an Observation Unit
• Explore the advantages of a hospitalist-based and ED-based Observation Unit
• Discover how using lean principles and tools can help you develop, implement, and sustain your Observation Unit processes
• Align and structure process metrics to measure the success of your Observation Unit efforts

In this interactive workshop, discover how to balance financial costs and revenue to maintain the Observation Unit.

• Review CMS billing rules for Observation to learn how to apply them for hospital and physician billing
• Demonstrate the hospital payment structure for Observation in contrast with Inpatient
• Understand the financial implications of Observation for patients
• Outline the process of calculating and carving out Observation hours for billing
• Interactively examine real cases to determine the correct Observation or Inpatient status
• Formulate the most common diagnoses to be managed in Observation to understand what are they and how to manage them in the most efficient way
• Examine the consultant’s role in an Observation Unit
• Explain how surgery patients fit or do not fit in an Observation Unit
• Uncover hidden expenses in your Observation Unit and learn how to operate more effectively with your given resources