If your facility has not yet thought seriously about the preparation and education it will take to follow Section 3004 of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), it’s time to get started with no time to delay!
Although it sounds fairly simple with just two items being monitored, new or worsened pressure ulcers and catheter-associated urinary tract infections (CAUTIs), it’s not as simple as you may think and there is preparation involved that cannot be delayed. Staff education always takes time and this certainly requires additional clarification and expectations to report effectively as directed.
Oct. 1st, 2012 is right around the corner. If you have read carefully though the new IRF PAI manual, you will have discovered that to begin submitting for all patients discharged by October 1 and thereafter, you must be ready at least a month or so before since patients discharged will have been admitted prior to that date. You must have skin inspection knowledge at admission and discharge to determine the appropriate answers for indicators 48A – 50 D; these items replaced the previous PUSH Tool on the IRF PAI.
When it comes to CAUTI reporting, there are significant preparation details that must be completed at NHSN (National Health Safety Network) before you will be permitted to submit your data through that website.
You will want to become very familiar with the IRF Quality Reporting page at the CMS.gov website. In the “download” section at the bottom of that page is a most helpful 21 page presentation from the CMS Open Door Forum held April 19th, 2012. This particular presentation has all the resources necessary to guide your preparedness in meeting the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act reporting guidelines. Don’t hesitate, get ready! Quality reporting is the next largest threshold to demonstrating value and effectiveness of IRF Care. The countdown begins NOW!
