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New Requirements to Reduce Health Care Disparities

Effective January 1, 2023, new and revised requirements to reduce health care disparities will apply to organizations in the Joint Commission’s ambulatory health care, behavioral health care and human services, critical access hospitals, and hospital accreditation programs. 

Palliative Care vs. Hospice Care

What are the differences between Hospice and Palliative care?
Sometimes the lines can be a bit blurred due to the similarities between the two. However, there are some distinct differences between them accordingn to definitions from the CMS. 

2023 OPPS Final Rule

CMS recently released the CY 2023 OPPS Final Rule, which included updates to the Hospital Outpatient Quality Reporting Program (OQR) Program. For the full text of the rule, see the Federal Register.

2023 QPP Final Rule

CMS recently published the CY 2023 Quality Payment Program (QPP) Final Rule which included numerous updates to MIPS Value Pathways (MVPs) and Merit-based Incentive Payment System (MIPS). For the full text of the rule, see the Federal Register.

SAFER Guides-Contingency Planning

As a healthcare professional with many years of nursing experience, I can’t say that there is ever a good time for a hospital’s EHR system to be offline. Whether the system is having routine maintenance or if there is another event that interrupts its access and use, the impact is never a positive one. Every healthcare provider working in the facility during that downtime period will be affected. 

2022 Quality Reporting Requirements for Inpatient Psychiatric Facilities

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and The Joint Commission (TJC) have quality reporting programs for Inpatient Psychiatric Facilities (IPFs).

2023 IPF PPS Final Rule

CMS recently published the FY 2023 Inpatient Psychiatric Facilities Prospective Payment System (IPF PPS) Final Rule which updated the prospective payment rates for Medicare inpatient hospital services provided by Inpatient Psychiatric Facilities (IPF), which include psychiatric hospitals and psychiatric units of an acute care hospital or critical access hospital excluded from the Inpatient Prospective Payment System (IPPS).

2023 IPPS Final Rule

CMS recently published the FY 2023 Inpatient Prospective Payment System (IPPS) Final Rule which includes several changes to the Hospital Inpatient Quality Reporting (IQR) Program and Medicare Promoting Interoperability Program for eligible hospitals and critical access hospitals (CAHs). For the full text of the rule, see the Federal Register.

2023 OPPS Proposed Rule

CMS recently released the CY 2023 OPPS Proposed Rule, which included proposals for the Hospital Outpatient Quality Reporting Program (OQR) Program. For the full text of the rule, see the Federal Register.

2023 QPP Proposed Rule

CMS recently published the CY 2023 Quality Payment Program (QPP) Proposed Rule which included numerous proposed updates to MIPS Value Pathways (MVPs) and Merit-based Incentive Payment System (MIPS). For the full text of the rule, see the Federal Register.

2023 IPPS Proposed Rule

CMS recently published the FY 2023 Inpatient Prospective Payment System (IPPS) Proposed Rule which includes several proposed changes to the Hospital Inpatient Quality Reporting (IQR) Program and Medicare Promoting Interoperability Program for eligible hospitals and critical access hospitals (CAHs). For the full text of the rule, see the Federal Register.

Electronic Case Reporting

Electronic Case Reporting (eCR) enables automatic, real-time exchange of case information with Public Health Agencies (PHAs).

When data is recorded in the EHR, it is checked against a trigger table to determine whether there is a reportable condition — and if so, an electronic Initial Case Report (eICR) is sent to the PHAs.