What You Need to Know Now about the CMS 2012 Nursing Home Action Plan On July 6, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released its 2012 Nursing Home Action Plan, which went into effect immediately. The Action Plan consists of five interrelated and coordinated approaches, each of which addresses one or more objectives of CMS' Three-Part Aim for improving healthcare in the U.S.: Improving the individual experience of care; Improving the health of populations; and Reducing the per capita cost of care for populations.

The five components of the Action Plan and additional details about each are listed below. Enhance consumer engagement Meets objective: 1 CMS plans to provide the public with a wider array of easy-to-understand information. For example, the Nursing Home Compare site (available at www.medicare.gov) has undergone a major overhaul. Strengthen survey processes, standards and enforcement Meets objectives: 1, 2, 3 CMS is engaged in several ongoing initiatives to improve the effectiveness of both standard and complaint surveys. Promote quality improvement Meets objectives: 1, 2, 3 CMS continues to increase its involvement in Advancing Excellence in America’s Nursing Homes as part of their efforts to meet quality improvement goals. The agency also encourages facilities to embrace resident-centered care. Create strategic approaches through partnerships Meets objectives: 2, 3 CMS has partnered with State Survey Agencies (SAs), Quality Improvement Organizations (QIOs) and Advancing Excellence Local Area Networks (LANEs) to address quality improvement at the state and national levels. Advancing quality through innovation and demonstration Meets objective: 3 CMS is involved in a number of projects that seek to transform health care by finding new ways to pay for and deliver care while simultaneously improving care and lowering costs. This is just a brief overview of the information contained in the Action Plan. To read the plan in its entirety, click the button above. Registered users of Compliance Solutions: For the Perfect Survey Every Day, Professional Medical's exclusive survey preparation website, have access to more in-depth information related to the CMS Nursing Home 2012 Action Plan. Not a registered user? Your ProMed territory manager would be happy to tell you about the eligibility requirements for accessing the site. Give us a call at (800) 648-5190 to learn more!

Join Us for a Tour of The Perfect Survey We offer monthly complimentary webinars to introduce you to Compliance Solutions: For the Perfect Survey Every Day because we believe that once you see what our exclusive survey preparation site has to offer, you'll agree that you don't need another software program or consultant telling you what you need to do to prepare for your next survey. You already know where potential problem areas lie – what you need are solutions. Our webinar will take you through everything the site has to offer, including: The actual forms that surveyors use Guidance broken down by F tag and care area Exclusive tips from industry veterans Case studies to address how you would handle specific challenges in your own facility An interactive community in which you can trade suggestions and solutions with other industry experts Fresh content that is added to the site on a monthly basis, including new challenge scenarios, videos and featured survey tips

To register for our August 23 webinar, which will be held from 8 a.m.-9 a.m. CST, simply click on the link above.

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