Now that PDPM is in full swing, what should be on my radar for 2020?
There is always one more thing on the horizon. This month is the rollout of the Phase 3 requirements of the conditions of participation, while many facilities are still struggling to adjust to Patient Driven Payment Model.
I would recommend focusing on QRP and SPADES (Standardized Patient Assessment Data Elements) as we near CY 2020. While the target date is Oct. 1, 2020, it is always good to plan ahead. In the final rule for FY 2020, the requirements were updated for the SNF QRP, including the addition of two Transfer of Health Information quality measures and standardized patient assessment data elements that SNFs would be required to begin reporting with admissions and discharges that occur on or after Oct. 1, 2020.
The intent of the Transfer of Health Information to the Post-Acute Care Provider is to capture on discharge from the SNF that a reconciled medication list was given to the next provider of care, resident and/or family. This is to improve continuity of care and reduce adverse drug events.
If your facility is not already doing so, begin sending a reconciled medication list with the resident or to the receiving agency on discharge. It is important to document this in the medical record and/or keep a copy of the list in the chart. One of the other topics addressed in the final rule, released in July, was the plan to exclude baseline residents from the Exclude Discharge to Community–PAC.
This makes sense, as these residents were long term before the hospitalization, and it is unlikely that a discharge to community is anticipated. More changes to the MDS are expected. And at the same time, facilities need to improve processes related to PDPM.
From the November 2019 Issue of McKnight's Long-Term Care News
