- CMS News and Updates
- Register for upcoming events
- Leadership Lesson: Advice from the frontlines
- Resources and information on:
- Health Equity
- COVID-19
- Opioid Utilization and Misuse
- Patient Safety
- Training
- Chronic Disease
- Care Coordination and Partnerships for Community Health
- Immunization
- BFAC
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The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced a new voluntary nationwide model, the Guiding an Improved Dementia Experience (GUIDE) Model, a model test that aims to support people living with dementia and their unpaid caregivers. The agency is accepting letters of interest for the GUIDE Model through September 15, 2023, and will release a GUIDE Request for Applications for the model this fall.
The model will launch on July 1, 2024, and run for eight years. CMS will hold a webinar with more details on Thursday, August 10, from 2-3 p.m. Register Here | Learn More
Care Compare and Provider Data Catalog July 2023 Data Refresh for Hospitals
The CMS Care Compare website provides consumers with information on over 100 quality measures for over 4,000 hospitals nationwide, including Veterans Administration (VA) medical centers and Department of Defense (DoD) military hospitals.
The Overall Hospital Quality Star Rating summarizes data from existing measures on Care Compare for each hospital to allow users to easily compare hospitals. Patients and caregivers can also compare hospitals’ performance for many common conditions.
As finalized in the Calendar Year 2021 Outpatient Prospective Payment System (OPPS) and Ambulatory Surgical Center (ASC) Payment System Final Rule (CMS 1736-P), Veterans Health Administration (VHA) hospitals reporting data for measures included in Overall Star Ratings are included in the calculations alongside non-VHA hospitals and are eligible to receive their own Star Ratings in July 2023. Previously, while VHA data was included with all other hospitals at the measure level, they were not eligible to receive Star Ratings and were excluded from all Star Rating calculations.
With the Provider Data Catalog, users can explore and download hospital data, as well as data on ambulatory surgical centers, inpatient psychiatric facilities, and some cancer hospitals. Publicly displaying quality information encourages hospitals and other health care facilities to make continued improvements in care. CMS updates the data on Care Compare and the Provider Data Catalog websites quarterly, though not all data are updated each quarter.
Data Updates
On July 26, 2023, CMS updated data for hospitals on the Care Compare and Provider Data Catalog websites. CMS updated data for the following measures, measure groups, quality reporting programs and payment programs:
- Complications & death
- Healthcare-associated infections (HAI)
- Maternal health
- Payment and value of care
- Promoting interoperability
- Timely and effective care
- Unplanned hospital visits
- Use of Medical Imaging
- Ambulatory Surgical Center Quality Reporting (ASCQR)
- Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (HCAHPS) Survey (includes data on Medicare-certified hospitals, VA medical centers, and Department of Defense [DoD] hospitals)
- Inpatient Psychiatric Facility Quality Reporting (IPFQR)
- Outpatient and Ambulatory Surgery Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (OAS CAHPS) Survey for ambulatory surgical centers and hospital outpatient departments
- Overall Hospital Quality Star Rating
- Prospective Payment System -Exempt Cancer Hospital (PCH) Quality Reporting Program
More Information and Compare Websites
Learn more about Care Compare
Learn more about Provider Data Catalog
For general questions regarding Hospital Public Reporting, go to the QualityNet Question and Answer Tool. Under Program, select Hospital Care Compare Site Support and choose your specific topic. This will get your inquiry directly to the Hospital Care Compare Site inbox.
For questions regarding Overall Hospital Quality Star Ratings, go to the QualityNet Question and Answer Tool. Under Program, select Overall Hospital Star Ratings and choose your specific topic. This will get your inquiry directly to the Overall Star Ratings inbox.
Events
**ANCC and NAB credits awarded**
Tuesday, August 8, 2023, at 2 p.m. ET
This session focuses on strategies to strengthen trust in communication impact performance and patient safety. In this all teach, all learn setting, we will discuss how to lead small tests of change that promote team engagement and strengthen a patient safety culture within your community.
Register Here | View Agenda
**ANCC credit awarded for viewing recording until 8/26**
Recorded on July 27, 2023
This session discussed the latest changes in weather patterns that can impact emergency planning. Participants also learned about integrating Trauma-Informed Care (TIC) principles into emergency preparedness and got a sneak peek at the AHS online TIC training module for frontline staff.
View Recording | View Materials
Were You Able to "Use Tomorrow" What You Heard During the LAN Events?
If Yes, Click Below.
Nursing Homes LAN Attendees: Click here
Partnership for Community Health LAN Attendees:Click here
Thursday, August 17 at 2 p.m. ET | 1 p.m. CT (60 min.)
**ANCC and NAB credit awarded**
Join the monthly Shop Talk sessions hosted by the Alliant patient safety team. Attendees will receive updates on the NHSN database and CMS requirements. This month, special guest presenters from NHSN will discuss new updates to NHSN reporting. There will also be a live question-and-answer session to help with your immediate needs. Submitting data accurately into NHSN will help you more confidently plan your risk assessments and quality improvement initiatives.
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Join the Alliant Health Solutions-LTC NHSN Group!
Joining the group and conferring rights to Alliant Health Solutions-LTC to view NHSN data allows for seamless support and technical assistance.
View Step-By-Step Guide
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Leadership
Words of advice from leaders on the front lines.
This month’s leadership lesson is from Karen Vallejo, infection prevention specialist for Alliant Health Solutions.
The Importance of Encouraging Routine Vaccinations for People of All Ages
National Immunization Awareness Month is an annual observance held in August to highlight the importance of routine vaccination for people of all ages throughout the year.
Adult vaccination rates in the United States are low, with many adults not fully aware of all the recommended vaccines for their age group. As health care leaders, we want to ensure our organizations have a culture that prioritizes assessing vaccination status at every encounter to protect everyone from vaccine-preventable diseases and disability. We also need to focus on increasing vaccine equity by partnering with our national, state, local, and community organizations working to increase vaccine confidence and access in their communities.
It matters to patients when they seek reassurance from their provider that vaccines are safe and effective. A strong, clear recommendation is usually enough, but others may need more information. Listening to their concerns and answering their questions can help them make informed decisions.
Therefore, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) call to action to providers across the health care spectrum is to improve the vaccination of adults and get routine vaccinations back on schedule. The CDC recommends using five reasons to strengthen vaccine confidence when recommending vaccines:
- Vaccines have saved lives for 100 years – but serious disease is still a threat
- Vaccines are the best way to protect yourself and your loved ones from preventable disease
- Vaccines can prevent serious illness
- The vaccines you receive are safe
- Vaccines may be required
Alliant Health Solutions' health equity lead, Rosa Abraha, curated the following health trainings, events and resources related to health equity. Check out the resources listed below.
AHRQ Stats: COVID-19 Visits and Age-Related Disparities in 2020
In 2020, 3.8% of civilian, noninstitutionalized Americans had a COVID-19-related medical visit or prescribed medicine purchase. Adults between the ages of 18 and 64 were more likely to receive treatment for COVID-19 (over 4.5%) than children ages 5–17 (1.5%). Learn More
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Podcast AHSCAST - Making Health Care Better
 | Everyone deserves quality health care. Tune into the Alliant Health Solutions Making Health Care Better podcast every other Thursday as they interview guests committed to making health care better. If you are a health care consumer, provider, insurer, system or consultant, this is the podcast for you. View All Podcast Episodes |
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Resources
COVID-19
View All COVID-19 News & Resources
The Center of Excellence for Behavioral Health in Nursing Facilities (COE-NF) provides mental health and substance use training, customized technical assistance and resources to certified Medicare and Medicaid nursing facility staff who care for residents with a variety of behavioral health conditions at absolutely no cost.
Interested in learning more? Visit our website
Want to request assistance? Submit an online request or call the Center
at (844) 314-1433.
Updated Information for Community Congregate Living
Facility operators should balance the need for COVID-19 prevention with the impact of reducing access to daily services and programming. Facilities may not be able to apply all enhanced COVID-19 prevention strategies due to local resources, facility and population characteristics, and/or other factors. Therefore, they can add combinations of enhanced prevention strategies for a layered approach to increase the level of protection. Learn More
CMS Final Rule Removes COVID-19 Testing and Staff Vaccination Requirements
On May 31, 2023, CMS announced a final rule, “Medicare and Medicaid Programs; Policy and Regulatory Changes to the Omnibus COVID-19 Health Care Staff Vaccination Requirements; Additional Policy and Regulatory Changes to the Requirements for Long-Term Care (LTC) Facilities and Intermediate Care Facilities for Individuals With Intellectual Disabilities (ICFs-IID) to Provide COVID-19 Vaccine Education and Offer Vaccinations to Residents, Clients, and Staff; Policy and Regulatory Changes to the Long Term Care Facility COVID-19 Testing Requirements.”
This rule will be effective 60 days after it is published in the federal register on June 5, 2023, and makes three key changes:
- Removes expired language addressing staff and resident COVID-19 testing requirements issued in the interim final rule (IFR) “LTC Facility Testing” on September 2, 2020.
- Withdraws the regulations published in the IFR "COVID-19 Health Care Staff Vaccination" on November 5, 2021.
- Finalizes certain provisions published in the IFR “COVID-19 Vaccine Educate and Offer” on May 13, 2021.
NCRN Year-End Recap Video
The Alliant Health Solutions NCRN team created a video highlighting our work over the past three years. Alliant Health Solutions is grateful for the opportunity to be a strategic partner in NCRN and thanks everyone who volunteered their time, skills and efforts in mitigating the effects of COVID-19. Watch End-of-Contract Video
Opioid Utliziation and Misuse
The new requirements began on June 27, 2023, for all prescribers with prescriptive authority (except veterinarians). Prescribers must now attest to completing 8 hours of training on substance use disorder and the use of medications to treat substance use disorder. For more information, click here and here.
New Publication: Prevalence of Potentially Inappropriate Medication Prescribing in US Nursing Homes, 2013-2017
Access article information here.
The 2022 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Clinical Practice Guideline is intended to help clinicians:
- Improve communication with patients about the benefits and risks of pain treatments, including opioid therapy for pain
- Improve the safety and effectiveness of pain treatment
- Mitigate pain
- Improve function and quality of life for patients with pain
- Reduce the risks associated with opioid pain therapy (including opioid use disorder, overdose, and death)
View the Guideline
Prevent Opioid Overdose With Naloxone
Clinicians play an important role in raising awareness about naloxone, a medication that can reverse the effects of an opioid overdose when given in time. Visit the CDC’s naloxone website to learn how to talk with patients about naloxone and reduce their risk of opioid overdose. You can also earn free continuing education credits. Visit Website
Opioid Resources:
Medication Reconciliation Tips for Providers & Staff – Use this resource as a guide to completing med rec. Download Resource
Medication Review Tip Sheet for Patients – Email or print this resource to give to your patients. Download Resource
Medicine Disposal - Use this resource to safely dispose of unused, unwanted and expired medications. Download Resource
Do’s & Don’ts of Pain Medicine - Use this resource to learn how to safely use pain medicine. Download Resource
My Med Bags:
Patient Safety
If you were unable to join us for last month’s Preventing and Managing Urinary Tract Infections (UTIs) in Nursing Facilities webinar, please see the resources below from the meeting: HAI Surveillance Bite-sized Learning: Revised McGeer Surveillance Checklist Tool Webinar
Interested in learning how to use surveillance definitions to accurately identify healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) in your facility? Our bite-sized learning video explains the difference between surveillance definitions and clinical diagnoses, introduces the Revised McGeer Criteria Surveillance Checklist to guide identification of HAIs, and walks through a urinary tract infection (UTI) case study. Check out our additional HAI surveillance resources here.
Training
Infection Prevention Training
CMS seeks to improve nursing home care and provide opportunities to expand training for infection prevention (IP). CMS set a national goal for each nursing home to have, at a minimum, 75% of direct-care staff trained in IP. CMS suggested the following list of trainings:
- CMS QSEP Targeted COVID-19 Training for Frontline NH Staff
- CDC Project Firstline
- HealthStream
- Health care Academy
- Relias
Scan the QR code below and complete the assessment to let us know what training you may provide in your facility. We can offer assistance with training program implementation as well. Visit https://bit.ly/NHIPAssessment.
Got questions? Need help? Want more information? Contact Rainmakers Strategic Solutions at 800-950-5636 or email NHIPTraining@rainmakerssolutions.com.
Chronic Disease
Gastroparesis Awareness Month in August is an opportune time to discuss the risk factors, signs, symptoms, and treatment options of gastroparesis with individuals living with diabetes, especially those experiencing diabetic neuropathy.
Diabetes is the most common cause of gastroparesis, a digestive disorder affecting the nerves of the gastrointestinal tract. It is characterized by delayed gastric emptying that can lead to various digestive symptoms such as bloating, nausea, vomiting, and early satiety. Neuropathy related to long-standing diabetes or poorly controlled blood sugar levels may contribute to muscular nerve damage and subsequent dysfunction of digestive organs, including the stomach.
Not all individuals with diabetes will develop gastroparesis, and those that do will experience varying degrees of symptoms. It is important to clearly communicate the risk of gastroparesis, its symptoms, and treatments to patients with chronic diseases, especially those with diabetes. Make sure that your patients and community members are aware of the following key points about gastroparesis:
- Definition: A condition where the stomach's emptying is delayed or impaired.
- Symptoms: Nausea, vomiting, bloating, feeling full quickly, heartburn, upper abdominal pain, and poor appetite.
- Link to chronic disease: Long-term and poorly controlled diabetes can lead to nerve damage, which can affect the stomach's ability to function properly.
- Risk factors: The duration and severity of chronic diseases such as diabetes and poor blood sugar control.
- Opioid pain medicines: codeine, hydrocodone, morphine, and oxycodone
- Antidepressants: amitriptyline, nortriptyline, and venlafaxine
- Diabetes medications: pramlintide, Ozempic, Victoza, Trulicity
- Anticholinergics that may interfere with stomach nerve signals include: Tolterodine, Oxybutynin, Fesoterodine, and Mirabegron
- Psychosocial impact on quality of life: Discuss how symptoms, potential complications, adjusting to dietary and other lifestyle changes, and the emotional effects related to having gastroparesis may affect daily life and well-being. Refer to a behavioral and/or mental health specialist when appropriate.
- Prevention and management strategies: Maintaining good blood sugar control, following a balanced and nutritious diet, regular exercise, avoiding certain medications or substances that may exacerbate symptoms, and regular medical check-ups can help reduce the risk and impact of complications like diabetic neuropathy and gastroparesis. Encourage the monitoring and prompt reporting of any digestive symptoms, especially severe pain.
Care Coordination & Partnerships for Community Health
Adults with intellectual/developmental disabilities (I/DD) often receive support from their parents or guardians throughout their lives. As parents and guardians age, they may become unable to support their adult child because of their own illness or other health concerns. CMS released a set of resources to support aging parents and caregivers in addressing the needs of adults with I/DD as they experience life transitions. Download the resource guide to learn how state agencies can meet the needs of adults with I/DD and their aging caregivers. Download Resources
New Mexico Clinical Communications
Effective patient-centered communication is important in building the foundation of trust in provider-patient relationships. The New Mexico Clinical Communications ECHO is a forum for providers to present cases and learn about the critically important communication skills and techniques which can help them navigate difficult conversations and techniques. Register Here
Save the Date for Nursing Home Readmissions Affinity Group Session #10
Alliant Health Solution’s Nursing Home Readmissions Affinity Group Session #10 will be held on Tuesday, September 12, 2023. Dr. Swati Gaur, MD, MBA, CMD, AGSF, will lend her experience and expertise during the session. Watch the Alliant Health Events page for registration and event materials.
Immunization
CMS Guidance on New Mandatory Vaccine Coverage
CMS provided guidance to states on implementing new mandatory vaccine coverage for adults to reduce hospitalizations, deaths, and morbidity. Beginning October 1, 2023, nearly all full-benefit people covered under traditional Medicaid aged 19 and over have coverage with no out-of-pocket expense for Food and Drug Administration-approved adult vaccines recommended by the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices. View Fact Sheet
Pneumococcal Vaccination
With all the pneumonia vaccines available now, knowing which vaccine your patient needs can be a bit confusing. Alliant developed a resource to help determine which vaccine your patient may need. Additionally, the CDC has a free mobile app, PneumonRecs VaxAdvisor: Vaccine Provider Appto guide you, step by step, through which vaccine your patient is due for. View Resource
Seasonal Immunization Campaign Calendar – READY SET GO
Your planning should be well underway for this fall’s flu and pneumonia campaign. Pulse checks from July key milestones included established flu vaccine and par levels for supplies such as sharps containers, promotional items ordered, and team members and facility team members identified. Continue to use this Seasonal Immunization Campaign Calendar as your tool to self-assess your current planning efforts and to obtain your goal of increasing both influenza and pneumococcal vaccination rates. Use the comprehensive Increasing Influenza Vaccination Rates in Nursing Homes guide as your resource.
Beneficiary & Family Advisory Council (BFAC)
Browse resources our council has worked on below:
How To Create a My Medicines List
It can be hard to keep track of medicines. A My Medicines List can remind you when, how, and how much medicine to take. Here are step-by-step instructions to create a My Medicines List for yourself, a family member, a friend, or anyone you take care of. View Instructions
Signs and Symptoms of Heat-Related Illness
Older adults are more likely to have heat-related health problems. It is important to stay safe in hot weather. Learn the symptoms and what to do if someone shows signs of having a heat-related illness. Learn More
Poor Air Quality and Indoor Exercises
Wildfire smoke can affect large areas outside the wildfire area. Stay up to date with air quality in your area at https://fire.airnow.gov/. Experts say it is especially important to avoid exerting yourself outdoors with activities when the air quality is bad. Stay active indoors with easy workouts. View Indoor Exercise Video
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