Seminar: Hot Topics in EMS

By LINDA BASHAM
911 Billing Services and Consultants, Inc.

Hot Topics in EMS
With featured speaker Steve Wirth, Esquire
by Featuring the Attorneys of Page, Wolfberg & Wirth, LLC
The Nation's Leading EMS, Ambulance and Medical Transportation Industry Law Firm

June 3, 2004
8:00 AM - 4:00 PM
Madisonville Health Technology School
Madisonville, Kentucky

Please see below for the topics to be discussed. 

Again this year we are charging a small fee of $50 per service that would like to send personnel.  Continental breakfast will be provided.  Lunch will be on your own. The fee will be used to cover the cost of our speaker and the presentation.  Any money collected over the cost will be donated to KAPA and IAA.  We will plan to set up continuing education hours for this presentation.

Please contact us by phone or email by May 28^th to reserve your place.  We look forward to making this second conference as successful as last years’.

Clients of 911 BILLING SERVICES may register free of charge by contacting us in advance with a list of personnel interested in attending.

Program Overview

Right now there are more important legal developments in EMS than at any time in its history.  EMS organizations and fire departments that provide EMS must stay on top of these rapidly developing changes or risk exposing themselves to needless liability and expense.  This interactive one-day seminar will focus on what you need to do to stay on top of the ever-evolving legal landmines that can blow up in your face if your ambulance service isn’t careful! 

Program Descriptions

Hey, This Used to Be Fun!  Personal Strategies for Coping with Change in EMS

Remember the days of Johnny and Roy in Squad 51 and why we got into EMS in the first place?  Too much stress and you don’t enjoy being in EMS anymore?  It seems like EMS today is more about paperwork and “risk management” and less about taking care of people—or is it?  Well, maybe you need the “12-Step Recovery Program” to reduce EMS stress, have more fun, and make practical improvements to your system and feel good doing it presented by EMS attorneys who have been there!  This presentation will help you focus on the bigger picture and the important issues that really make a difference, instead of sweating the small stuff!     

Dynamic Documentation: This Is Not Your Father’s Trip Sheet!

Think this is “just another documentation session?”  Well, think again!  This all-new session will open your eyes and change the way you think about EMS patient care documentation.  Using actual legal case studies where documentation issues were center stage, this session will explore the relationship between documentation and EMS provider liability.  In addition, this presentation will sharpen your focus on the legal issues surrounding the use of new field data collection technologies and keep you on the cutting edge of reducing your liability through documentation. 

The Final Security Rule: Meeting HIPAA’s Next Big Challenge

The HIPAA security rule, which is completely separate from the privacy rule, goes into effect in April, 2005.  Is your ambulance service ready to implement all of the new requirements dealing with the physical and technical security of your patient information?  Does your software offer sufficient security to comply with HIPAA?  Is your patient information stored appropriately?  Are your EMS personnel properly trained on their data security obligations?  This session will review the new HIPAA security rule and bring you up to speed on what you need to know to tackle this newest HIPAA challenge.

Making Sense of Medicare for Ambulance Services:  The Rules Have Changed, AGAIN!

This session explores the current requirements for what it takes to get ambulance claims paid by Medicare and other insurance carriers.  Participants will learn about the nuances of the Medicare fee schedule, the ever-changing rules for medical necessity for non-emergency transports, and discover surprising things about what an “emergency” really is for Medicare purposes.  The latest changes to ambulance reimbursement under the new Medicare Reform Act will be discussed.  This session will also review tips for effective documentation practices to help demonstrate medical necessity according to today’s strict Medicare guidelines.

"Its Getting Worse!  Latest Developments in Government Law Enforcement of the Ambulance Industry

The federal government has amassed $4.21 billion in fines, settlements, and restitution payment from its health care investigations in the last three fiscal years---well over the $3.29 billion it collected in the prior ten years combined!   Between 1996 and 2003, Congress has more than tripled the budget for Medicare and Medicaid fraud enforcement at the OIG.  Should you be concerned?  Absolutely!   Understanding the new theories and draconian penalties under the FCA makes this a “must attend” reimbursement session.  This session will explore the latest developments under the FCA, including new theories of liability – like when a billing company "causes" the submission of a false claim, the critical importance of attorney/client privilege in internal investigations, bad quality of care as the basis for a false claim, and failure to have in place an effective compliance program.  Specific steps on what to do now to minimize your risk of a false claims act case will be provided. 

About the Speaker

Steve Wirth, Esquire is a founding partner in the national EMS law firm of Page, Wolfberg & Wirth, LLC.  He is a longtime former EMS provider, educator and administrator, having started as a volunteer EMT for a rural fire department, and then becoming one of central Pennsylvania’s first paramedics.  Steve currently is a member of the Panel of Commissioners of the Commission on Accreditation of Ambulance Services, the national ambulance service accrediting body (www.caas.org).  Steve is also a long time volunteer firefighter, former Assistant Fire Chief, and is currently an active firefighter/EMT with the Hampden Twp. VFC in Mechanicsburg, PA.  He is a frequent speaker at regional, state, and national EMS conferences, and is a legal columnist for JEMS, EMS Insider, and MergiNet.   He can be reached by e-mail at swirth@pwwemslaw.com, or by phone at 717-691-0100.  Browse the firm’s web site at www.pwwemslaw.com. 

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