The presenters highlighted the need for immediate action, because of:
The objective ultimately is to make care safer, reinforce person and family-centered care, promote effective communications and care coordination, promote effective prevention and treatment, promote best practices for healthy living, and make care affordable. Noble aspirations, these.
Fundamentally, the underlying principles include enabling innovation, fostering learning organizations, eliminating disparities, and strengthening infrastructure and data systems. While a couple of these principles as stated are a little vague, the last point about infrastructure and data systems is much clearer. Why? (And this is where I hear the screech of a needle slid across an LP vinyl record.) Because, you have an important reporting deadline to meet come October 1, 2016.
The IMPACT Act requires (italics added) SNFs to report standardized assessment data for the following Quality Measure Domains starting October 1, 2016:
CMS cautions that these domains are not exhaustive. In other words, there is more to come. For example, medication reconciliation and communicating the existence of and providing for the transfer of health information and care preferences have a common 10/1/18 deadline.
What is CMS supposed to do with this data? Why make them interoperable, of course, by standardizing/aligning/harmonizing the data elements, linking them to health IT standards, and making them available “to the public reports mapping assessment data elements to health IT standards.” (Say again?)
What are the drivers behind this? To replace fee-for-service with value-based payments with a focus on outcomes in contrast to service volume with emphasis on complex individuals who may receive care from providers across the entire care continuum.
Accomplishing this requires a change in the way providers communicate by relying on the electronic exchange of standardized and interoperable information to:
There is so much more the Open Door Forum presented. But critically, providers need to focus on what they must do to report standardized functional status/cognitive function, skin integrity, and incidences of major falls assessment data to CMS starting October 1, 2016. This is just the beginning. Be alert to opportunities to learn more from CMS, your national trade association, and expert bloggers.
Will you be ready? We recommend that you include this among your important 2016 initiatives.