Description

After this webinar, attendees will be able to answer:

• How is the 36-hour therapy-start requirement calculated from midnight on the day of admission?
• What evidence should the medical record contain to prove timely therapy evaluation or treatment?
• How should weekend, holiday and late-day admissions be staffed and scheduled?
• What must occur in the initial interdisciplinary team meeting on or before day four?
• How do FY 2027 payment, wage-index, case-mix, rural and outlier updates affect IRF reimbursement?
• What QRP submission-calendar changes should quality, HIM and infection-prevention teams adopt now?

Webinar details

The FY 2027 IRF PPS Final Rule introduces operational deadlines that directly affect scheduling, documentation and Medicare compliance. Therapy treatment or evaluation must begin no later than 36 hours from midnight on the day of admission, and the initial interdisciplinary team meeting must occur on or before four days from the admission date.

This webinar will show how to translate those deadlines into admission workflows, weekend and holiday staffing plans, therapy scheduling controls, timestamp validation and interdisciplinary documentation. It will identify common failure points involving physician orders, delayed evaluations, unavailable therapists, incomplete meeting records and inconsistent escalation procedures.

The session will also address FY 2027 payment and wage-index updates, case-mix considerations, the final year of the rural-adjustment phaseout, outlier exposure and revised IRF Quality Reporting Program submission deadlines. Compliance officers, auditors and executives will receive a practical framework for testing readiness before October 1, 2026.

This webinar benefits the following agencies and organizations:

• Medicare-certified inpatient rehabilitation facilities and rehabilitation hospitals
• Hospital-based rehabilitation units and multi-hospital health systems
• Post-acute care networks, rehabilitation management companies and specialty operators
• Therapy organizations providing physical, occupational or speech-language services to IRFs
• Consulting, legal, audit and revenue-cycle firms serving rehabilitation providers
• Technology and clinical-documentation vendors supporting IRF-PAI and QRP workflows

Who should attend?

• Chief Executive Officers, Chief Operating Officers and Chief Financial Officers
• Chief Compliance Officers, compliance directors and regulatory affairs leaders
• Internal auditors, external auditors, legal counsel and risk-management professionals
• IRF administrators, hospital executives and rehabilitation service-line leaders
• Medical directors, rehabilitation physicians and interdisciplinary team leaders
• Physical therapy, occupational therapy and speech-language pathology directors
• Quality, QRP, infection prevention, HIM and clinical informatics professionals
• Utilization review, case management, billing, coding and revenue-cycle teams
• Nursing leaders, admission coordinators, scheduling managers and education teams

Why this topic matters now

The new time-based requirements can be tested directly through admission dates, therapy timestamps and meeting records. Staffing gaps or weak documentation may turn an operational delay into a Medicare compliance issue, while payment and QRP changes add financial consequences.