APIC Puts Pressure on Congress for Nursing Home Infection Prevention Efforts
In the letter, the organization emphasizes the “astounding” lack of attention given to infection control in the nation’s nursing homes. It also references multiple government reports that have highlighted the results of the lack of attention.
Preparing for the Shift to Care in the Home
Integrated Home Care Services recently released a report finding growing recognition of and interest in healthcare at home. Roughly 80% of respondents stated that they believe this increase in home care utilization is here to stay. But that confidence doesn’t carry over to preparation and performance.
Inspector General Provides Recommendations for Nursing Home Infection Prevention
Using Medicare claims data, the OIG looked at 15,086 nursing homes nationwide that had “extremely high” infection rates between spring and fall of 2020. Particularly, they looked at each facility’s characteristics, whether they’d been cited with infection control deficiencies, as well as if their reported nursing hours met Medicare’s minimum requirement.
Innovation and Strategy as Care Moves Home
The November 2022 report, Person-Centered Innovation – An Update on the Implementation of the CMS Innovation Center’s Strategy, looks at strategic objectives to drive accountable care, advance health equity, support innovation, address affordability, and foster partnerships to drive system transformation—all topics that have been top of mind in the patient safety and quality sphere over the last few years.
AAAHC Analysis Finds Increased Citations For Infection Prevention, Safety
The report analyzes accredited organization compliance ratings based on onsite surveys conducted from January 1, 2021 to March 31, 2022. Organizations surveyed include ambulatory surgery centers (ASC), Medicare Deemed Status ASCs, office-based surgery practices, and primary care settings.
CMS Hones In On Underperforming Nursing Homes With Tougher Oversight
Eighty-eight nursing homes participate in the SFF Program, which is 0.5% of all nursing homes in the country. The Program was created to help nursing homes improve compliance and quality, however, some facilities have not been able to achieve the necessary standards to graduate from the Program, or they fail to sustain compliance.
It’s Official: CMS Creates New Rural Emergency Hospital Provider Type
In its annual final rule on hospital outpatient prospective payment and ambulatory surgical center payment systems, scheduled to be published in the Federal Register on November 23, CMS also finalized a set of REH Conditions of Participation (CoP), which it says track closely with CoPs for critical access hospitals.
Home Caregiver Engagement Pivotal in Patients’ Care Transitions
Several earlier studies have shown negative impacts on adults with chronic conditions during healthcare transitions. About 26% of these patients experience emergency department visits, 18% experience rehospitalizations, 66% experience adverse drug events, and 81% experience medication discrepancies.
Nursing Homes Found to be Underreporting Pressure Ulcers
For hospital admissions claims with pressure ulcers as the primary diagnosis, 22.4% of them weren’t reported by the nursing homes. For those claims with pressure ulcers as the secondary diagnosis, 45% of them weren’t reported by the nursing homes.