Are we paranoid or what?
Call it paranoia, conditioned reflexes, or just a case of the permanent jumps, as James Thurber once described the problem, but home health providers scare easily these days. Attending a recent conference for respiratory therapists, Hospital Home Health's Consulting Editor Cathy Frasca, RN, BSN, FACHCA, observed the following case in point:
Conferees were all talking at a meeting about Congress and the Health Care Financing Administration, along with all the changes taking place in home care. People were throwing out letters like trinkets at Mardi Gras - BBA (Balanced Budget Act), PPS (prospective payment system), IPS (Interim Payment System), OIG (Office of Inspector General), ORT (Operation Restore Trust), and more, when somebody dropped the term "FLA" to the room full of nervous listeners. "What's that?" gasped one of the respiratory therapists. "Where's that definition written?" begged another. As people scrambled to learn the dreaded term's meaning, the originator of the confusion replied quietly, "It just means Florida, dears."
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