2023 Past Webinars

January 12, 2023

Join the NHPCO Policy team for a look forward at the hospice and palliative care legislative and regulatory landscape in 2023 and beyond. In addition, find out ways to get involved in advocating for hospice and palliative care.

Learning Outcomes:
At the completion of this webinar, participants will be able to:

• • • Describe proposed federal and regulatory priorities for 2023
    • Understand the interaction of legislative and regulatory processes, and how they impact hospice advocacy
    • Understand how to advocate for hospice policy priorities in 2023

February 9, 2023

Diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging (DEIB) culture starts with an organization’s governance. To fully transform culture to embrace DEIB, you will need buy in from the top. Join webinar faculty to learn how to develop DEIB buy in from the board and c-suite and how to establish appropriate organizational alignment to fully transform your organization’s culture.

Learning Outcomes:
At the completion of this webinar, participants will be able to:

• • • Understand the role of governance in DEIB culture at an organization.
    • Describe 3 ways you can develop board and c-suite buy in for DEIB.
    • Discuss ways to implement appropriate organizational alignment for DEIB.

February 23, 2023

Join NHPCO and the American Heart Association® for a presentation with cardiologist Peter Morcos, MD, and palliative care physician George Delgado, MD to learn and understand when palliative care is appropriate for heart failure patients.

The physicians will share how they collaborate on heart failure care including referring patients, best practices, and lessons learned. Live Q&A will be moderated by Rory Farrand.

Learning Outcomes:
At the completion of this webinar, participants will be able to:

• • • Explain the value of a referring collaboration between a cardiologist and palliative care physician for heart failure patients
    • Determine the appropriate time to integrate palliative care into heart failure management
    • Summarize the benefits of early palliative care and how to apply to heart failure patients
    • Utilize the current evidence base for palliative care for patients with heart failure

Watch Recording

March 9, 2023

Ever wonder about fundamental strategies of ACOs, their internal goals, and where hospice and palliative care intersect now and for the future?  Gain tips and insights, from a hospice veteran operating an ACO REACH, to position your hospice agency, or palliative care program, as a partner for ACOs seeking to target seriously ill individuals.

Learning Outcomes:
At the completion of this webinar, participants will be able to:

• • • Participants will be able to formulate questions in preparing to meet and understand the goals of ACOs operating in their local area.
    • Be prepared to engage ACO’s in a thoughtful and grounded conversation to apply as a hospice preferred provider.
    • Understand how ACOs use data analytics to engage physicians and the key drivers of physician retention in ACOs.

March 23, 2023

Join the NHPCO Policy Team as we talk about the regulatory, policy, and advocacy implications of the end of the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency on May 11^th.  Participants will explore the changes in care delivery that hospices can expect.

Learning Outcomes:
At the completion of this webinar, participants will be able to:

• • • Identify the waivers that will be discontinued after May 11, 2023.
    • List the flexibilities with expiration dates after the public health emergency.
    • Identify waivers applicable to other parts of Medicare that also apply to hospice.

April 12, 2023

Join leaders from NHPCO and the National Association for Home Care & Hospice in this free webinar for a discussion of recent research on the Value of Hospice and how you can use the findings in your program. The research shows that patients’ use of hospice care contributed to $3.5 billion in savings for Medicare in 2019, while providing multiple benefits to patients, families, and caregivers.

Learning Outcomes:

At the completion of this webinar, participants will be able to:

• • • Understand and explain the research findings.
    • Understand and explain the importance of these findings for policy conversations.
    • Make recommendations for how a hospice can utilize the findings.

April 13, 2023

In this session you will learn about the communication, health equity, and spiritual barriers to initiating and completing advance care planning (ACP) consultations so you can implement a successful and profitable ACP program in your organization.

Learning Outcomes:
At the completion of this webinar, participants will be able to:

• • • Explain to others within your organization and potential referral partners the rewards of offering ACP to patients and beneficiaries, as well as the risks of failing to do so.
    • Articulate key elements required to operate a successful digital, interoperable, measurable, and profitable ACP program consultation.

Patient safety is a critical component of a robust quality improvement program, but many providers struggle to define metrics, collect data, and perform interpretation in a manner that leads to measurable and improved patient outcomes.  During this session, we will discuss how hospice and palliative care organizations can use data collection to consistently improve patient safety and the quality of care delivered, with an emphasis on engaging clinicians at the point of care.  Learn how to simplify patient safety related data collection, interpretation, and evaluation to improve workflows and engage the full interdisciplinary team.

Learning Outcomes:
At the completion of this webinar, participants will be able to:

• • • Describe the importance of measuring and evaluating patient safety initiatives to improve care and reduce unwanted events.
    • Identify strategies for using data to improve patient outcomes and quality of care.
    • Simplify data collection, interpretation, and evaluation practices to improve workflows for clinicians performing bedside care.

The National Hospice Measures of Excellence reports are an aggregate of data provided by participating hospice organizations, that benchmark performance in various areas of care delivery like clinical, financial, operational and staffing segments. The reports allow organizations to compare themselves against national averages. This is instrumental in providing industry insights, supporting advocacy efforts, and providing useful benchmarking data to hospice providers that aids in developing a quality driven organizational culture, refining strategic goals, setting operational targets and staffing levels, and improving quality of care delivery.

This webinar will be focused on a comprehensive overview of the report and strategic approaches for utilizing the report data at an operational level.

Learning Outcomes:
At the completion of this webinar, participants will be able to:

• • • Describe data points and useful benchmarking data available on different areas on the MOE report.
    • List ways to leverage the MOE data set and operationalize national reports to help inform quality in Hospice care.

June 8, 2023

Health care workers in general are at increased risk of encountering safety and violence hazards in their work environment. In-home clinicians face unique hazards while providing services directly in patients’ homes. It is critical that clinicians understand the various risks they may encounter on a daily basis and how to respond, in addition to their organizations establishing systems and programs that support their physical well-being and mental health.

Learning Outcomes:
At the completion of this webinar, participants will be able to:

• • • Identify hazards for clinicians that accompany working in people’s homes, along with various strategies to mitigate the risk
    • Explore organizational strategies to address the overall well-being of clinicians

July 13, 2023

Join the faculty for a journey into the perilous world of pediatric patients. Using a case-based format, the interdisciplinary team will explore the differences and similarities compared to adults. Our discussion will include attention to strategies and tools for caring for pediatric patients.

Learning Outcomes:
At the completion of this webinar, participants will be able to:

• • • List three to five differences between a pediatric and adult patient.
    • Demonstrate understanding around prognostic understanding and uncertainty of pediatric patients.
    • Identify tools to care for pediatric hospice patients.

July 27, 2023

Living with a chronic wound negatively impacts an individual’s quality of life. Experiencing uncontrolled wound symptoms exacerbates this problem. Pain, malodor, heavy exudate, and bleeding are common symptoms that patients and family members find distressing. If poorly controlled, these symptoms may lead to psychological effects, such as anxiety, embarrassment, shame, or grief. This session will examine strategies used to palliate the physical and psychological symptoms associated with chronic wounds.

Learning Outcomes:
At the completion of this webinar, participants will be able to:

• • • Identify factors contributing to the development of wound symptoms.
    • Describe strategies used to resolve wound symptoms and improve quality of life.

August 10, 2023

Hospice care is a unique care delivery system unlike any other care at home benefit. Because of the unique nature of the care and care delivery it is important that everyone working in a hospice organization understands these core concepts and conditions of participation. This course explores the basics of hospice care, payer sources, the Medicare hospice benefit, and structure and delivery of care.

Learning Outcomes:
At the completion of this webinar, participants will be able to:

• • • Learner will understand the basic principles of hospice care.
    • Learner will be able to explain high level hospice appropriate criteria according to medication conditions of participation guidelines.
    • Learner will be able to identify members of the core interdisciplinary team and their basic role.

August 24, 2023

CMS has issued the final FY 2024 Hospice Wage Index and Payment Rate final rule.  What changes are now final?  How did CMS respond to NHPCO comments submitted in the FY 2024 proposed rule comment letter?  What is the percentage update for Medicare hospice rates?  The Request for Information in the proposed rule asked about spending outside the hospice benefit, why higher levels of care are not frequently used, and why hospices do not often offer dialysis, blood transfusions and palliative radiation and chemotherapy. What did CMS say about comments received? In quality reporting, the HOPE tool, future quality measures and the status of the survey-mode experiment for the CAHPS Hospice Survey were all discussed. Finally, the final rule requires physicians who certify Medicare beneficiaries for hospice care (both hospice physicians and attending physicians) to be enrolled in Medicare or be validly opted-out.

Learn more about these points of concern and changes to physician enrollment by joining this webinar for a discussion of the content in the FY 2024 Hospice Wage Index and Quality Reporting Final Rule, with implementation dates of October 1, 2023 and May 1, 2024.

Learning Outcomes:
At the completion of this webinar, participants will be able to:

• • • Identify the rate percentage increase for rates and the hospice aggregate cap.
    • Describe upcoming changes in the Hospice Quality Reporting Program (HQRP) and the status of the survey-mode experiment.
    • List two requirements for physicians who certify Medicare beneficiaries for hospice and what requirements must be met by May 1, 2024.

As government scrutiny of hospice programs escalates and evolves, hospices must adapt to survive and thrive.  Change is afoot in how the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, the Office of the Inspector General, the Department of Justice, and state Medicaid authorities conduct audits, police enrollment, regulate providers and physicians, perform surveys, and prioritize enforcement efforts.  This presentation will identify emerging trends in government program integrity actions and what hospices can do to ready themselves.

Learning Outcomes:
At the completion of this webinar, participants will be able to:

• • • Prepare for new government program integrity efforts to mitigate the risk of adverse consequences from audits, surveys, investigations, and new regulatory burdens.
    • Develop “big picture” business strategies for sustaining and growing the hospice in increasingly aggressive government enforcement.