Hospitals are doing a better job at protecting patients from safety problems leading to deaths from accidents, infections, injuries, and medical errors, but there is still much room for improvement, according to the most recent Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade report.
This week's note from the instructor looks at the progress CMS has made in reducing burden through the Patients over Paperwork initiative and explores potential topics for providers to comment on to drive additional improvement.
Q: I work for a behavioral health recovery center, and many of our programs fall under 42 CFR Part 2, as we provide substance use services. Sometimes a referring agency follows up to ask if a client has scheduled an appointment. Can we confirm that a patient has made an appointment? Do referral appointments like this fall under PHI?
On June 11, CMS published a Request for Information (RFI) as part of its Patients Over Paperwork initiative to collect public input on ways to reduce unnecessary administrative and regulatory burden.
This week’s Medicare updates include an OIG review of a hospital’s skewed wage data, a court-ordered explanation on methodology for certain IPPS calculations, a memo on changes to timelines on investigations for deaths associated with restraint or seclusion, and more!
