CMS Discharge Planning Worksheet and Standards: Proposed 2019 Changes

Description

Overview

Discharge planning standards have recently been rewritten to assist in preventing unnecessary readmissions to the hospital. There has been a lot of recent literature that is now becoming best practices such as calling the patient when they go, making their follow up appointment before they leave the hospital, ensuring the discharge summary is in the hands of the primary care physician before their first visit, and having a transition nurse who can follow up with the patient after discharge.

In 2018, 2,573 hospitals forfeited 564 million dollars because of having higher than average readmissions. It is important for hospitals to follow the discharge planning standards to prevent readmissions. Also, CMS has announced the revised worksheet and the proposed changes are likely to be finalized in 2019.

Many hospitals have started to have a readmission committee to look at ways to reduce unnecessary readmissions. Some hospitals do a gap analysis to determine if they are in compliance with the CMS CoPs. This is probably a good idea since CMS just rewrote all of the discharge planning standards. Most hospitals are also reviewing the evidenced based literature which shows ways to reduce unnecessary readmission and how to prevent adverse events after the patient is discharged.

 CMS is issuing quarterly reports regarding compliance with the discharge planning standards. These reports display a list of all the hospitals that had a compliance survey and where they were out of compliance with the CMS CoPs. The number of deficiencies in the area of discharge planning continues to go up as CMS is increasing their focus on this area. 

Join us for this webinar with our expert speaker, Sue Dill Calloway, RN, MSN, JD, to get a better understanding of the final CMS worksheet on discharge planning and what will change under the proposed changes in 2019. Sue will provide you with major recommendations to reduce unnecessary readmissions and share what your hospital has to do to be in compliance with the CMS hospital discharge planning standards.

Session Highlights

• How the final CMS hospital discharge planning standards will impact the discharge planning worksheet
• Blue box or advisory boxes
• CMS crosswalk to old tags
• Discharge planning
• Identification of patients in need of discharge  planning
• Discharge planning evaluation
• The discharge plan
• Physician requests for discharge planning
• Implementation of the patient’s discharge plan
• Reassessment of the discharge plan
• Freedom of choice for LTC or home health agencies
• Transfer or referral
• Crosswalk
• Discharge Planning Worksheet
• Completion of intake form; name, CCN number, deemed status
• Complete form in advance of survey
• Discharge planning policies for all inpatients
• Discharge planning for certain outpatients
• Preparation of discharge plan for all inpatients
• Discharge planning policy requirements
• Interview of patients and questions asked
• Interview questions for physicians
• Reassessment of the discharge plan
• Feedback process from post-acute hospital providers (LTC, home health)
• Criteria and screening process for discharge planning evaluations
• Qualified social workers and discharge planners
• Self-care evaluation
• Assessment of ADL
• Medical equipment for home
• Patient representative involvement
• Medication reconciliation
• Written and legible discharge instructions
• Referrals and transfers
• Changes for 2019

Who Will Benefit:

• Discharge planners
• Transitional care nurses
• Social workers
• Chief nursing officers
• Physicians
• COOs
• CEOs
• Chief medical officers
• Direct patient care nurses
• Risk managers
• UR nurses
• Nurse educators
• Nurse managers
• Patient safety officers
• Joint commission coordinator
• Anyone else involved with discharge planning