Medicare Hospice Manual


Book Description




The CMS Hospital Conditions of Participation and Interpretive Guidelines


Book Description

In addition to reprinting the PDF of the CMS CoPs and Interpretive Guidelines, we include key Survey and Certification memos that CMS has issued to announced changes to the emergency preparedness final rule, fire and smoke door annual testing requirements, survey team composition and investigation of complaints, infection control screenings, and legionella risk reduction.







Instructions to Surveyors


Book Description




Improving Diagnosis in Health Care


Book Description

Getting the right diagnosis is a key aspect of health care - it provides an explanation of a patient's health problem and informs subsequent health care decisions. The diagnostic process is a complex, collaborative activity that involves clinical reasoning and information gathering to determine a patient's health problem. According to Improving Diagnosis in Health Care, diagnostic errors-inaccurate or delayed diagnoses-persist throughout all settings of care and continue to harm an unacceptable number of patients. It is likely that most people will experience at least one diagnostic error in their lifetime, sometimes with devastating consequences. Diagnostic errors may cause harm to patients by preventing or delaying appropriate treatment, providing unnecessary or harmful treatment, or resulting in psychological or financial repercussions. The committee concluded that improving the diagnostic process is not only possible, but also represents a moral, professional, and public health imperative. Improving Diagnosis in Health Care, a continuation of the landmark Institute of Medicine reports To Err Is Human (2000) and Crossing the Quality Chasm (2001), finds that diagnosis-and, in particular, the occurrence of diagnostic errorsâ€"has been largely unappreciated in efforts to improve the quality and safety of health care. Without a dedicated focus on improving diagnosis, diagnostic errors will likely worsen as the delivery of health care and the diagnostic process continue to increase in complexity. Just as the diagnostic process is a collaborative activity, improving diagnosis will require collaboration and a widespread commitment to change among health care professionals, health care organizations, patients and their families, researchers, and policy makers. The recommendations of Improving Diagnosis in Health Care contribute to the growing momentum for change in this crucial area of health care quality and safety.




Health Care Facilities Code Handbook


Book Description




Nursing Home Federal Requirements


Book Description

"[The book] lists all the federal requirements that are evaluated by state surveyors during the annual survey visit to nursing homes and for complaint visits. The exhibit section contains forms used by surveyors to gather data during the survey visit. Visually, the format makes the regulations easy to read. If nursing home staff used the book to prepare for a survey, they would be well prepared." Marcia Flesner, PhD, RN, MHCA University of Missouri-Columbia From Doody's Review The Federal government, together with more than 50 advocacy groups, has spent the past 40 years writing and refining the rules and guidelines in this manual. This book presents the latest federal guidelines and protocols used by federal surveyors in certifying facilities for participation in Medicare and Medicaid funding. It is an essential resource for long-term care facilities to have on hand to be ready for a survey at any time. It provides information straight from CMS's Internet-Only Manual-in print and at your fingertips for easy access. Divided into four accessible and user-friendly parts, this manual includes: Federal requirements and interpretive guidelines Rules for conducting the survey Summary of the requirements for long-term care facilities and surveyors CMS forms commonly used by surveyors This newly updated and revised edition spans every aspect and service of a nursing home and represents the latest requirements to ensure that outstanding quality assurance and risk management programs are in place. New to This Edition: Section on how to use manual Summarization of federal requirements Updated definitions of Medicare and Medicaid Compliance requirements with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 SNF/Hospice requirements when SNF serves hospice patients SNF-based home health agencies Life safety code requirements Changes in SNF provider status Surveyor qualifications standards Management of complaints and incidents New medical director guidelines




Returning Individual Research Results to Participants


Book Description

When is it appropriate to return individual research results to participants? The immense interest in this question has been fostered by the growing movement toward greater transparency and participant engagement in the research enterprise. Yet, the risks of returning individual research resultsâ€"such as results with unknown validityâ€"and the associated burdens on the research enterprise are competing considerations. Returning Individual Research Results to Participants reviews the current evidence on the benefits, harms, and costs of returning individual research results, while also considering the ethical, social, operational, and regulatory aspects of the practice. This report includes 12 recommendations directed to various stakeholdersâ€"investigators, sponsors, research institutions, institutional review boards (IRBs), regulators, and participantsâ€"and are designed to help (1) support decision making regarding the return of results on a study-by-study basis, (2) promote high-quality individual research results, (3) foster participant understanding of individual research results, and (4) revise and harmonize current regulations.




Practical Healthcare Epidemiology


Book Description

A clear, hands-on outline of best practices for infection prevention that directly improve patient outcomes across the healthcare continuum.




Families Caring for an Aging America


Book Description

Family caregiving affects millions of Americans every day, in all walks of life. At least 17.7 million individuals in the United States are caregivers of an older adult with a health or functional limitation. The nation's family caregivers provide the lion's share of long-term care for our older adult population. They are also central to older adults' access to and receipt of health care and community-based social services. Yet the need to recognize and support caregivers is among the least appreciated challenges facing the aging U.S. population. Families Caring for an Aging America examines the prevalence and nature of family caregiving of older adults and the available evidence on the effectiveness of programs, supports, and other interventions designed to support family caregivers. This report also assesses and recommends policies to address the needs of family caregivers and to minimize the barriers that they encounter in trying to meet the needs of older adults.