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CMS finalizes several new rules, regulations regarding home health care
CMS recently finalized new rules that will enhance the quality of health care services for patients in home health care programs and increase their rights, according to a press release.
“Our priority is to ensure that Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries who receive health services at home get the highest level of patient-centered care from home health agencies,” Kate Goodrich, MD, director, Center for Clinical Standards and Quality, CMS, said in the release. “[This] is the first update in many years to Medicare and Medicaid home health agency rules and reflects current best practices for in-home care, based on recommendations from stakeholders and medical evidence.”
According to CMS, under the rule, patients will receive coordinated, needed health care services, all under the direction of their physician, in their home. The final rule includes components such as:
- requiring that patients and caregivers have written information on how to take medications, treatments they receive, future visits, care instructions, and how to reach a home health agency clinical manager;
- requiring an assimilated communication system that ensures patient needs are identified and addressed, care is synthesized among all specialties and dialogue between the patient’s physician(s) and home health agencies does not lapse;
- requiring a constant data-driven, agency-wide quality assessment and performance improvement program that assesses and enhances agency care for all patients;
- a new infection prevention and control requirement that concentrates on the use of standard infection control practices, as well as teaching and educating patients/caregivers about them;
- a simplified skilled professional services mandate that concentrates on applicable patient care activities and supervision across all areas;
- a greater patient care coordination requirement that makes a licensed clinician responsible for all patient care services;
- revisions to streamline the organizational structure of home health agencies while continuing to allow parent agencies and their branches;
- ·new job requirements for clinical managers and home health agency administrators;
- an extensive patient rights condition of participation that clearly details the rights of home health agency patients and the steps taken to ensure those rights; and
- an expanded comprehensive patient assessment requirement that focuses on all aspects of a patient’s well-being.
Currently, more than 5 million Medicare and Medicaid recipients are getting home health care from 12,600 Medicare and Medicaid-participating home health agencies nationwide, according to the release.
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Disclosure: Goodrich works for CMS.