The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) published a new requirement focused on improving the management and administration of services by home health organizations. Axxess created a guide on what organizations should do to meet the acceptance-to-service requirement.
The standard is designed to ensure that organizations can provide the highest practicable functional capacity for their patients.
Key Points of the New Requirements
CMS is expecting home health organizations to:
Organize, manage and administer resources effectively to meet patient care needs.
Maintain administrative and supervisory functions within the organization.
Develop a comprehensive patient acceptance-to-service policy to evaluate the organization’s capacity and resources.
Provide accurate, up-to-date public information about services and limitations.
Regularly review and update public information to reflect changes in services.
Ensure that all prospective patients are evaluated equitably based on the organization’s capacity and resources.
Ensure Adequate Capacity and Competency
Organizations must ensure they have the necessary capacity and staff competence to meet patients’ needs.
The CMS-drafted standard states, “The agency must organize, manage, and administer its resources to attain and maintain the highest practicable functional capacity, including providing optimal care to achieve the goals and outcomes identified in the patient’s plan of care, for each patient’s medical, nursing, and rehabilitative needs.”
This standard is intended to reduce delays by ensuring referrals are made to organizations capable of managing specific patient conditions.
Provide Transparent and Accurate Public Information
To help patients and referring entities make informed decisions, organizations must provide accurate information about their services.
CMS recommends quarterly updates, but organizations must review and update service information annually.
Strengthen Patient Intake and Resource Management Policies
Patient intake procedures must be well documented. This includes evaluating available staff and resources to ensure positive patient outcomes.
The standard states, “Ensure that all patient intake processes are well-documented and include a plan that evaluates the current availability of staff and resources to adequately care for the patient with an expectation of positive outcomes at discharge.”
Board of Directors’ Role in Compliance
The new standard requires home health organization boards of directors to include compliance measures in their annual policy reviews.
Incorporating this requirement into the process ensures ongoing compliance with CMS regulations and maintains quality patient care standards.
Axxess Home Health, a cloud-based home health software, empowers healthcare organizations with a chart of accounts feature and a suite of detailed financial reports, streamlining data collection and facilitating seamless financial operations.