After receiving a barrage of feedback, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services is updating its new website for the Patient-Driven Payment Model, and touting a quick release for a much-anticipated regulatory/training manual
CMS first launched its new PDPM website in November. It includes training presentations, implementation tools and frequently asked questions about the dramatic new payment system. During a Thursday Open Door Forum with providers, agency officials said they are giving the website a facelift to address industry concerns.
Changes — which were expected to hit the web late Thursday — include an updated training presentation with new information, a revised 40-page walkthrough of how patients will be classified under the payment model and an expanded FAQ page
Officials also said that the hotly anticipated Resident Assessment Instrument manual should be released in May. The document typically drops in August, but officials said they wanted to give providers extra time with it ahead of the Oct. 1 PDPM start date.
CMS also said Thursday that it has contracted with the firm RTI International to begin developing a new SNF Quality Reporting Program measure related to healthcare-acquired infections. As part of the process, RTI will convene a panel of experts to flesh out the particulars of the new measure. It is accepting nominations for experts through today, Feb. 15. Kate Goodrich, M.D., the CMS chief medical officer, first hinted at the new measure in a Jan. 31 Health Affairs blog.
