Elderly woman in hospital bed

3 Day Stay

Angie SzumlinskiNews

If you work in the SNF world you are familiar with the CMS 3-day stay rule, head in the bed for three nights in acute care to qualify for SNF care. The good news is that there is movement underway to revise this criteria and is currently in Washington DC for review. Let’s keep out fingers crossed that we gain …

Podcast Episode 2: The CMS “Red Hand” Campaign

Peter FeeneyNews, Podcast

What is the so-called “Red Hand Campaign” that was launched by CMS last fall? Join HealthCap CEO Peter Feeney as he talks with HealthCap Risk Managers Cheryl Wilcox, RN, CLNC, RAC-CT, and Dorene Spies, LNHA about the campaign, what it is, how it can affect facilities, and what to do if you receive a “red hand” icon on nursinghomecompare.com.

microphone with headphones for podcast

CMS Podcast Series

Angie SzumlinskiAnnouncements, Podcast

CMS has produced a series of podcasts “Nursing Home Strategy Part I – Strengthening Oversight,” that summarizes what CMS is doing behind the scenes and discusses recently published memos, survey process changes, and “putting patients above paperwork.” This is the first of many podcasts. The podcast largely discussed abuse and neglect, the surveyor’s responsibilities, law enforcement involvement, and reporting consistency …

CMS Ensuring Safety and Quality in Nursing Homes: Five Part Strategy Deep Dive

Angie SzumlinskiCompliance

CMS recently blogged about their five-part approach they are using to ensure safety and quality in America’s nursing homes. The approach is: Strengthen Oversight Enhance Enforcement Increase Transparency Improve Quality Put Patients over Paperwork Seema Verma, Administrator, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services wrote about the first strategy, Strengthen Oversight, in a recent blog post.

CMS Releases Enforcement of Federal Regulations Related to Antipsychotic Medication Utilization Rates

Angie SzumlinskiCompliance, News

As of January 2019, there are 235 late adopter nursing homes that have been cited for noncompliance with federal regulations related to unnecessary medications or psychotropic medications two or more times since January 1, 2016, and who have not shown improvement in their long-stay antipsychotic medication rates. If these facilities are determined not to be in substantial compliance with requirements …

CMS Releases Revisions to Appendix Q (Guidance on Immediate Jeopardy)

Angie SzumlinskiCompliance

Core Appendix Q and Subparts – Appendix Q to the State Operations Manual (SOM), which provides guidance for identifying immediate jeopardy, has been revised. The revision creates a Core Appendix Q that will be used by surveyors of all provider and supplier types in determining when to cite immediate jeopardy. CMS has drafted subparts to Appendix Q that focus on …