I recently provided an in-service for about 20 different IRF facilities in Ohio where I shared train-the-trainer information and links to help prepare rehabilitation facilities for the new Quality Monitoring for fiscal year 2013. The information I presented was from what I learned when I attended the Inpatient Rehabilitation Facility PAI Train-the-Trainer Conference provided by CMS. After returning home and…
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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…
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VAP is about to be revamped! The current criteria used to determine and track ventilator associated pneumonia (VAP) are undergoing an overhaul. Through the National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN), the CDC, in cooperation with other subject matter experts and organizations, has formed a working group to review and update the “surveillance definitions” for what they are calling ventilator associated events…
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First proposed, then made final, quality reporting is on the horizon and will begin this year for inpatient rehabilitation with an initial two measures, CAUTI and Wound Monitors. The much anticipated directives will be published soon. We hope before the end of this month (January). Although the phone update on quality outcomes in November was informational, it left more questions…
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A couple of weeks ago, there was an open door forum for inpatient rehabilitation providers to explain the newest quality measures and reporting requirements. Just after, I voiced my concerns about the inability to aggregate CAUTI data separate from others as a certified inpatient rehabilitation facility as it did not seem appropriate to merge IRF/unit outcomes with non-certified rehabilitation…
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For each of you that tuned into the Open Door Forum on Nov. 29 to once again review the newest requirements for IRF regarding quality reporting for CAUTI and wounds, I wonder if that call left you feeling prepared and ready to move ahead? Did the call serve its purpose and are you closer to working toward this requirement for…
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