The new PDPM reimbursement system is making its impact known in the skilled nursing market beyond drastically reducing therapy minutes. It is also changing the way SNFs provide care to higher acuity and medically complex patients, now that CMS has recognized (and will pay for) the added care that goes with them. Well, six skilled nursing facilities in Indiana clearly have an eye towards maximizing that reimbursement, while providing a better care experience too, by partnering with Dialyze Direct to provide in-facility dialysis services. This is not the first such agreement made by Dialyze Direct with other SNFs, and we suspect it won’t be the last.
This service seems like a no-brainer for SNFs who have the capacity and the referral network to care for this type of patient. Bussing dialysis patients out to a separate facility is an added cost to the SNF (in addition to the actual care), takes away precious hours during the day to provide other reimbursable care, and is overall a more exhausting experience for the patients themselves. Sounds like a win-win, and explains why a company like Brookdale Senior Living also previously announced an agreement with Dialyze Direct to provide this service to four of its CCRC campuses in Texas.
