January 2020 Newsletter                      Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter View our profile on LinkedIn View our videos on YouTube 
Happy New Year and best wishes for a warm and wonderful 2020!
 
Our January newsletter continues to focus on the changes provided in the Omnibus Reduction Act of September 2019.  Our Part 3, is actually divided into 2 parts, one part that focuses on the changes as applicable to hospitals and a second part that focuses specifically on the changes that affect Critical Access Hospitals.  Read on to learn more about the changes related to non-discrimination, infection prevention control and antibiotic stewardship , as well as, changes in Quality Assessment and Performance Improvement, licensed independent practitioners and nursing.

Also, we send a fond farewell to Carol Mooney as she leaves Courtemanche & Associates to pursue new endeavors. Many thanks Carol for your dedication and contributions to our clients and staff.

Omnibus Burden Reduction (Conditions of Participation) Final Rule
CMS-3346-F Part 3 - Hospitals

The Omnibus Burden Reduction (Conditions of Participation) Final Rule issued September 26, 2019 by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) removes or revises Medicare regulations in an effort to reduce in efficiencies and improve the delivery of lower cost, high quality care with better patient outcomes.

Hospitals
Non-discrimination: CMS will be deferring to the nondiscrimination requirements of Section 1557 of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act - Section 1557 which states "Section 1557 prohibits discrimination based on race, color, national origin, sex, age or disability in certain health programs and activities". Read More.  
 
About the Author -

James Ballard is an Associate Consultant with over 30 years of experience responsible for assessing healthcare organizations' readiness for licensing, accreditation and regulatory compliance. He has worked in a variety of healthcare positions and his experiences range from Surgical Technologist, EMT, Combat Medicine to a Federally Certified Healthcare Surveyor (Hospital, Critical Access, Transplant, Ambulatory Survey Centers and Long-Term Care), to Director positions over Compliance, Quality, Infection Prevention, Safety, Risk Management, Employee Health, and Emergency Preparedness. Mr. Ballard was the main creator of the CMS Focused Quality Assessment and Performance Improvement (FQAPI) Survey process and tool for Transplant programs in Hospitals. Read more about James and our team.  
 
 
"James is knowledgeable, personable and understood and met our needs. James is a great resource."  
Tony Dillard, Anne Arundel Medical Center 

Omnibus Burden Reduction (Conditions of Participation) Final Rule
CMS-3346-F Part 3 - Critical Access Hospitals  

The Omnibus Burden Reduction (Conditions of Participation) Final Rule issued September 26, 2019 by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) removes or revises Medicare regulations in an effort to reduce inefficiencies and improve the delivery of lower cost, high quality care with better patient outcomes.

Critical Access Hospitals
  Periodic Review of Clinical Privileges and Performance (§ 485.631(d)(1) through (2)) retain the requirements under paragraphs § 485.641(b)(3) through (4), that are currently found under the "Periodic evaluation and quality assurance" CoP, and relocate them under a new standard under the "Staffing and staff responsibilities" CoP at  
§ 485.631. Read more. 

About the Author -


Sherri Aleksejczyk is an Associate Consultant with Courtemanche & Associates. She is a licensed registered nurse with extensive experience ranging from education to perioperative services, as well as leadership expertise in managing many aspects of healthcare operations. She is trained in the application, teaching, and facilitation of the requirements and recommendations of The Joint Commission, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, AAAHC and other regulatory and accrediting agencies.  Read more about Sherri and our team.  
"I was with the surveyors most of the time but every time we had a question or clarification for Sherri she was more than willing to assist and get us the information. Thank you for all your assistance during our survey." 
Julie Focken, Regional West Medical Center 
INTRODUCING Mid January . . . . . .  
The Courtemanche & Associates  
Quality Academy  
C&A's  NEW On Demand Education Program!

Our 2020 C_APPS Membership is now available for purchase!     
 
The membership is a one-year program that will run January through December of 2020.
 
 
 
 
Each month's package will contain a minimum of 3 documents that may cover tracing tools, competencies, checklists for policies & procedures or other useful items.
 
We design the packets to cover the top problematic standards from both the national data that is available and from our internal data.   
 
Examples of some upcoming topics are Infection Prevention, Suicide Assessment and Intervention, Immediate Jeopardy and other timely topics.  
 
 
Colleague feedback includes:
"Great tools - very user friendly and very useful"
"I like the fact that you provide the policy, tracer and competency for one focused topic" " ...The checklists are very helpful"
 
To order or for more information click here 
 
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The Joint Commission® is a registered trademark of Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations. Courtemanche & Associates has no affiliation with this entity.
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