Skilled Nursing Facility Chart Review Skilled Nursing Facility Chart Review Form: Fill & Download for Free

A utilization review nurse concurrently reviews the chart to make sure that insurance requirements are met for the inpatient stay. A case manager handles discharge planning, arranging for home health equipment, skilled nursing in a long term care facility and home health needs. Both are essential jobs in a hospital

In general most pharmacists duties are in the pharmacy and are related to dispensing of medications.The exact role of a ‘clinical pharmacist’ is impossible to define. It has a lot to do with the practice setting and the people for which you work.In a hospital, a ‘clinical pharmacist’ works with a team of medical professionals and the patient to determine and monitor the most appropriate drug therapy. The roles would vary from hospital to hospital. The bigger the hospital the more specialized the pharmacist may be. It is possible to work with only infectious disease, transplant, or you name it.In a clinic it could be a combination of the above and also seeing patients with certain chronic disease states, like diabetes, HIV, hypertension…making sure the patient is being treated appropriately.All long term care pharmacies employ them to review medical charts and medications for skilled nursing homes and assisted care facilities. It is required by law.The opportunities are multiplying. In the State of Washington you can prescribe if you obtain prescriptive authority from a doctor. Most pharmacists have the ability to prescribe immunizations, and it doesn’t stop there.As family practice doctors continue to get squeezed by shrinking reimbursements and the increasing roles of ARNPs and pharmacists they (the physicians) will eventually hire clinical pharmacists to work for them and carve out certain subgroups of patients that they don’t need to see, scaling their business. Some progressive practices already do this.The one problem with being a clinical pharmacist is they get paid the least. Yep, you read that right. They are the most knowledgeable and the lowest paid.

There are three key things to look for in a Medicare Supplement Insurance plan: Benefits, availability and cost.BenefitsFirst, you’ll want to determine which coverage benefits are of most importance to you. Use the Medigap plan comparison chart provided by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to see how each plan covers different expenses. Then decide which of these benefits are most useful to you.As you can see from the chart, there are 10 benefit areas that may be covered by a Medicare Supplement Insurance plan. Let’s examine each one to determine it’s potential value.Medicare Part A coinsurance. Hospital coinsurance can be very expensive, but every Medigap plan provides full coverage for this benefit. Consideration: None (as all plans are equal in this benefit area).Medicare Part A deductible. The Part A deductible for 2017 was $1,316 for each benefit period, which can potentially reset multiple times within one calendar year. Consideration: High.Medicare Part B coinsurance. You’ll typically pay 20 percent coinsurance for services and products covered under Part B. Consideration: High. This out-of-pocket expense is likely to be among the ones most often encountered for most people.Medicare Part B deductible. The Part B deductible was just $183 per year in 2017. Consideration: Low.Medicare Part B excess charges. Excess charges can be incurred if you visit a health care provider who does not accept Medicare assignment. These excess charges can be up to 15 percent more than the Medicare-approved amount. Consideration: Low if you only visit providers who accept Medicare assignment; medium to high if you do not.Part A hospice care coinsurance/copayments. Hospice patients may need to make copayments of no more than $5 for prescription drugs or other products related to pain relief and symptom control along with a 5 percent coinsurance payment for respite care. Consideration: Low to medium.Blood. Medicare does not provide coverage for the first three pints of blood needed for a transfusion. Consideration: Medium (the average cost of a pint of blood has been reported to be between $130 and $150).Skilled nursing facility care coinsurance. The first 20 days of a stay at a skilled nursing facility come with no coinsurance. On day 21, you’ll begin paying $164.50 per day (for 2017). Consideration: Medium (of course the daily cost can be high, but only if you spend at least 21 days in the facility during your benefit period).Foreign travel emergency care. Certain Medigap plans provide coverage for emergency care received outside of the U.S. Consideration: Strongly depends. This benefit may prove valuable to people who anticipate doing a lot of foreign travel, but won’t mean much to those who don’t.Out-of-pocket limit. Two Medigap plans come with annual out-of-pocket limits, meaning you won’t be charged for covered services once this amount is reached. Consideration: Depends. It’s nearly impossible to predict our health care needs in any given year. But these plans are good for people who want the peace of mind knowing that they have some cost protection.The bottom line is that everyone’s health care needs are different so take the time to review each of the 10 benefit areas and pick out the ones that you think will be most useful to you.AvailabilitySeems like a no brainer, but you can only purchase a Medigap plan if it’s sold in your area. And because Medigap plans are sold by private insurers, not every plan is guaranteed to be sold in every state.CostAs with any purchase, cost should be considered when choosing a Medigap plan. Because these plans are sold on the private market, prices will vary from one carrier to another and especially from one geographic location to another.Once you have used the comparison chart to pick out a couple plans that may best suit your needs, contact a licensed insurance agent for help determining if those plans are available where you live and what your different price options are.