Group and Concurrent Therapy: Modes of Treatment for the SNF Clinician
Presented by Sarah Shearer-Smith
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The Patient-Driven Payment Model (PDPM) brings new opportunities to provide more efficient and cost-effective therapy services in the SNF setting by eliminating the financial penalties for group and concurrent therapy. With this opportunity, however, there are new requirements for billing and documenting these modes of therapy. This course will outline the technical requirements for providing group and concurrent therapy as well as provide tools for successful treatment delivery. Therapists and assistants will learn strategies to make group and concurrent therapy efficient, including how to select appropriate patients for these modes of delivery. Finally, ideas for specific group activities that can address individual impairments and achieve patient-specific outcomes will be discussed and demonstrated.
Meet your instructor
Sarah Shearer-Smith
Sarah Shearer-Smith has spent all of her physical therapy career working with the geriatric population in various post-acute rehabilitation settings: skilled nursing, long-term care, memory care, and continuing care communities. Before joining Consonus, she served in a multitude of roles for two national providers of…
Chapters & learning objectives
1. Financial, Social, and Clinical Benefits of Group and Concurrent Therapy
This chapter will describe how the Patient-Driven Payment Model (PDPM) changes the financial ramifications of group and concurrent therapy by removing all volume of therapy requirements and decreasing the payments associated with therapy services, thus driving the initiative to deliver therapy in a more cost-efficient manner. Then there will be a discussion of the social and clinical benefits of group and concurrent therapy when delivered in a skilled, organized, and appropriate manner.
2. Overview of Group Therapy
This chapter will provide the definition of group therapy according to CMS and review requirements related to billing group therapy (appropriate CPT codes for each discipline, Part A and Part B differences). The requirements for documenting group therapy will be discussed and examples provided.
3. Clinical Success With Group Therapy
This chapter will review tips for providing successful group treatments, including the selection of appropriate patients. It will address the importance of and provide instruction in creating a group activity that meets the individual needs of the patient by addressing their impairments and treatment goals. A structure or outline for groups and examples that meet these criteria will be provided.
4. Overview of Concurrent Therapy
This chapter will provide the definition of concurrent therapy according to CMS. There will be a review of billing and documentation requirements for concurrent therapy and the differences between Medicare Part A and Medicare Part B. Examples of documentation that meets the criteria for concurrent therapy will be provided.
5. Clinical Success With Concurrent Therapy
This chapter will review tips for providing successful concurrent treatments, including the selection of appropriate patients. Examples of appropriate concurrent therapy sessions will be provided.
6. Group and Concurrent Therapy Considerations
This chapter will outline the CMS limits for group and concurrent therapy and potential ramifications of exceeding the limits. It will also cover CMS guidance related to mixing modes of therapy, how the presence of a student affects the definitions of group and concurrent therapy, and considerations when providing group and concurrent therapy to Medicare managed care beneficiaries.