National Nurses Week

National Nurses Week was May 8th - May 12th. This week is devoted to nurses nationwide, including those in the One Call network. One Call paid homage to these dedicated healthcare workers with a Thank You letter and a video message from Senior Clinical Care Navigator and RN, Betzy Bautista. View it here.

Seatbelt Requirement -Transportation Services

In an effort to protect your business and the driver, the following are required to wear a seatbelt when providing transportation services to One Call injured workers and patients:

• Drivers
• Front seat passengers, AND
• Back seat passengers

Important: This requirement applies to all modes of transportation ( i.e., sedan, stretcher, wheelchair, etc.).

One Call is aware 16 states do not require rear seat passengers to wear a seat belt, including New Hampshire, which has no law regarding seatbelts.

Regardless of the state, One Call requires drivers, and all passengers wear a seatbelt during transportation.

Texas Regulation – Rule 117.28:

General Requirements for Massage Establishments

Applies to: Physical Therapy

Effective: July 01, 2023

Texas Regulation – Rule 117.28 addresses licensure and operation of massage establishments. All massage establishments and massage therapists are to be licensed and in good standing as outlined in this rule.

Read the rule and the relevant terms and definitions pertaining to it here:

Reminder:

Workplace Injuries Increase in the Summer

As temperatures rise during the summer months, so do workplace injuries. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor and Statistics, work-related injuries are the highest June through August.

An increase in summer jobs, young and inexperienced workers, work-related travel, and higher temperatures for outside employees, are just some of the reasons for the high rate of on-the-job injuries.

Common summer workplace injuries include,

• Slip and falls
• Heat exhaustion or stroke
• Lacerations to fingers and limbs

Encourage patients to be more cognizant of workplace safety during this time of year.

Here are some helpful tools employees can utilize to stay safe:

• OSHA-NIOSH Heat Safety Tool App - Monitors the heat index in real time

• Red Cross First Aid App - Provides immediate access to life-saving first aid information and locates the nearest hospitals in the area

• Safety Compass App - An interactive site map that displays and notifies user of hazardous conditions in the area

Compliance

Congress Considers Legislation to Map Provider Reimbursement to Inflation 

The US House of Representatives is considering a bill that ties Medicare payments to the Medicare Economic Index (MEI), thereby instituting an annual inflation update.

Healthcare groups welcomed the move , but criticized a Medicare Payment Advisory Commission, which recommended payments be tied to only 50% of the MEI.



Medicare physician payments are frozen through 2026 and physicians experienced a 2% payment cut at the start of the year. However, the bill has been introduced to reflect inflation in payments.

Per the American Medical Association (AMA), when adjusted for inflation, physician payments have fallen by 26% from 2001 to 2023. The AMA is urging Congress to adopt the new payment method for Medicare.

 Read more from the AMA here.

Credentialing

Delegated Credentialing



The Credentialing Team is working diligently to process all provider applications to join or continue in the One Call Network.

Important Reminders:

You may receive email/phone requests from the Credentialing Team to collect additional documents/information to complete your application, or to clarify a submitted response.

One Call established a dedicated team to support our Delegated Providers. Team coordinators will be reaching out to you to align on your next Delegated Audit.

For questions regarding Delegated Credentialing, please contact our Delegated Credentialing Coordinator, John Jablowski at: John_Jablowskilll@onecallcm.com. 

Provider Contracting

Notifying One Call of Demographic Changes

The provider market continues to shift with ongoing mergers and acquisitions. It is important our provider partners keep One Call apprised of these changes. This helps avoid disruption to patient care and/or payment.

When One Call is not properly notified of changes in ownership or acquisitions, this may cause confusion with:

• One Call
• Patients
• Adjusters
• Provider partners
• Referring physicians
• Nurse case managers

To avoid back-end issues and ensure patients continue getting the care they need when they need it, please notify us of any changes within your organization in a timely manner. These changes include, but are not limited to:

• Changes in ownership and/or Tax ID number (#)
• Physical Address Changes
• Billing Address Changes
• Addition or removal of a practitioner
• Phone / Fax / Email Updates 

Please refer to the demographic change contact email list here.

Provider Engagement

Helpful Reminders

Reminder: Notify our Operations Team as soon as possible of circumstances such as staffing challenges and patient rescheduling. This is especially critical during spring and summer, when travel is high.

Here are some helpful reminders for Physical Therapy and Transportation & Language Services:

Physical Therapy

Physical Therapy submission options:

Fax: 904-309-8942

Email: PT@onecallcm.com

Important Note: Treat only body part(s) and condition(s) as authorized by One Call.