Month: October 2021

PEPPER! It’s Not Just Seasoning!

What is a PEPPER report?

PEPPER stands for the Program for Evaluating Payment Patterns Electronic Report. PEPPER reports summarize Medicare claims data for a provider in “target areas” that may be at risk for improper Medicare payments. PEPPER compares a provider’s Medicare claims data statistics with combined Medicare data for the nation, jurisdiction, and the state. PEPPER is an educational tool that is intended to help providers assess their risk for improper Medicare payments. While PEPPER reports started as a report pushed out to providers, it is now the responsibility of the organization to pull the report, which is available on PEPPER Resources.

PEPPER Target Areas

PEPPER target areas are identified as potentially at risk for improper Medicare payments (e.g., coding or billing errors, unnecessary admissions/services).

Coding-Focused Admission-Focused
Simple Pneumonia Total Knee Replacement (Added with the Q3FY20 Release)
Septicemia 30-Day Readmissions to Same Hospital or Elsewhere
Unrelated OR Procedures Two-Day Stays for Medical DRGs
Emergency Department Evaluation and Management Visits One-Day Stays for Medical DRGs

For a complete listing of PEPPER target areas, visit PEPPER Resources.

How can providers take advantage of the data PEPPER reports offer?

  • To assist hospitals with monitoring short stays, several target areas in PEPPER focus on one-and two-day stays. Hospitals should examine their statistics for these target areas to help assess their risk for unnecessary admissions and to monitor changes in admission practices over time.
  • PEPPER does not identify the presence of payment errors, but it can be used as a guide for auditing and monitoring efforts. A hospital can use PEPPER to compare its claims data over time to identify areas of potential concern such as:
    • Significant changes in billing practices
    • Possible over-or under-coding
    • Changes in lengths of stay

PEPPER reports were developed as a compliance tool, but the data provided can also assist in revenue cycle optimization and integrity.

Have questions about the PEPPER report? Contact the Office of Healthcare Compliance and Privacy.

Tips for Emailing Patient Information

October is Cyber Security Awareness Month and the
Office of Healthcare Compliance and Privacy has some
tips for you on sending patient information by email.

Responsibilities of individuals authorized to
email protected health information (PHI):

  • Do not email PHI to your personal email address.
  • Do not email PHI to another UConn Health user’s personal email address.
  • When emailing PHI to another UConn Health user, use the recipient’s UConn Health email address.
  • Do not include PHI in the subject line of an email.
  • Emails containing PHI must include [Secure] in the subject line or the body of the email.
  • Double-check all recipient e-mail addresses before hitting the send button, and watch out for the auto-complete function in Outlook.
  • Do not share your password with anyone, and lock your computer when not in use.

Review our internal policies for more information:

For more information, contact the Office of Healthcare Compliance and Privacy.