The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) presented the annual Quality Conference April 8-10 in Baltimore, Md., that included a virtual participation option. The third day of the conference was devoted specifically to nursing homes, with the final session of the conference featuring a “Fireside Chat” with the CMS Division of Nursing Homes.
Quality and Safety Branch manager Eimee Casal highlighted areas of focus including infection control, erroneous coding on the Minimum Data Set (MDS) assessment, and unnecessary psychotropic medications. She referenced the recent incorporation of the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention’s (CDC) Enhanced Barrier Precautions into infection control guidance to prevent transmission of multidrug-resistant organisms in nursing homes.
Casal noted that in adopting this standard, CMS has been sensitive to maintaining a homelike environment and emphasized discretionary practices within the standard, such as where to store personal protective equipment and how to notify staff of the need for enhanced barrier precautions during care.
She also discussed CMS’s continued focus on erroneous coding of schizophrenia diagnoses on the MDS, noting that off-site audits have shown that often times, the nursing home lacks enough documentation to support the coding of this diagnosis. Similarly, Casal reported that nursing homes may lack adequate documentation to support the use of psychotropic medications. Specifically, nursing homes lack documentation of non-pharmacological interventions and other information to show why a psychotropic medication is the most appropriate intervention for a given resident.
LeadingAge has partnered with Pathway Health to provide resources for nursing homes on a variety of topics in the Requirement of Participation. Members will find the following most helpful in addressing the issues identified by Casal:
LeadingAge login is required to access these resources. Members can create a login here.
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