News & Events

April 25, 2006                                                          

Hospitals Get New Resource for Preventing Medicare Payment Errors

HPMPResources.org is a first-of-its-kind national clearinghouse

Middletown, CT – There’s a new Internet resource for hospitals looking to prevent Medicare payment errors and reduce their audit risk. HPMPResources.org provides compliance officers, utilization and health information management professionals and other staff with one-stop shopping for tools and information related to payment error prevention.

All of the materials on HPMPResources.org are available to hospitals free of charge as part of the Hospital Payment Monitoring Program (HPMP), the national initiative to measure, monitor and reduce the incidence of improper fee-for-service inpatient payments.

“There has never been a clearinghouse quite like this, a place where hospitals in Connecticut can review and obtain a wide variety of tools and information pertinent to HPMP from across the nation,” said Janice McDonnell, HPMP Project Coordinator at Qualidigm, the Medicare Quality Improvement Organization (QIO) for Connecticut. “There’s something on this site for every hospital that wants to reduce their payment errors and audit risk.”

Some of the notable materials on HPMPResources.org include:

HPMP Compliance Workbook. This exhaustively researched workbook provides crucial guidance, suggestions and tools for hospitals seeking to develop, update or strengthen their compliance programs, particularly for areas monitored by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, an agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The workbook was specifically written to aid staff in identifying and improving hospital compliance program structures and processes that contribute to payment errors due to medically unnecessary services and inaccurate diagnosis-related group (DRG) assignment, admission screening criteria noncompliance and insufficient medical record documentation.

Tools Compendium. Hospitals can download data collection/analysis tools, data dissemination tools, prompters, pathways/protocols, guidelines, presentations, articles/handouts and other materials to aid staff in improving processes and preventing payment errors.

Online Training for the Program for Evaluating Payment Patterns Electronic Report (PEPPER). It’s never been easier to learn to use PEPPER, the electronic report that contains hospital-specific data for areas often associated with payment errors. This four-part series of Web-based training sessions on PEPPER is the perfect tutorial for staff wanting to reduce payment errors and decrease their hospital’s audit risk using PEPPER data.

The collection of materials on HPMPResources.org will only grow over time as hospitals and QIOs use the Web site to share tools and information they have developed individually.

Hospitals can access all of these resources and more by visiting www.hpmpresources.org, or by going to www.qualidigm.org.

For more information about HPMP activities in Connecticut, contact Janice McDonnell at 860-632-6387.

Qualidigm is a nationally recognized private, non-profit consulting and research company headquartered in Middletown, CT.  Dedicated to improving the quality and safety of health care, Qualidigm has over two decades of experience in delivering innovative, scientifically based, practical solutions for its clients in the public and private sectors. It is the designated Quality Improvement Organization (QIO) for Connecticut, and a certified Patient Safety Organization (PSO). 

The company’s vision is to be the partner of choice for those who commit to achieving sustainable improvement in health and the quality of health care.  Qualidigm actively engages in local and national partnerships with providers, physicians, payers, business and consumers, as well as accreditation bodies, state and federal government programs, academic institutions, and research organizations.

For further information, please contact:
Qualidigm
Joy Dorin

Telephone: (860) 632-6320