CMS will continue reporting data on patient safety indicators including pressure sores, falls and sepsis.
The agency's initial proposal to suppress data reported by hospitals as part of a measure called the CMS Patient Safety and Adverse Events Composite, or CMS PSI 90, was met with strong opposition from patient safety advocates including The Leapfrog Group, who called on others to voice their concerns in the comment period on the proposed rule, which ended June 17.
"The Leapfrog Group applauds CMS for finding a way to continue the public reporting of some of the most dangerous medical and surgical complications that happen in hospitals, known as CMS PSI 90. In their discussion of the final rule, we were gratified to hear CMS reinforce their longstanding commitment to transparency and patient safety," Leah Binder, president and CEO of the Leapfrog Group, told Becker's in a statement. "We thank CMS for their leadership — for listening to and championing patients and families, patient safety advocates, employers, purchasers, clinicians and all Americans who are deeply concerned about patient safety."
In an Aug. 1 press release, CMS acknowledged initial concerns about the "impact COVID-19 would have on the ability to interpret data" and that the proposed rule "was also sensitive to the risks of financially penalizing hospitals for factors potentially out of their control."
In alignment with the feedback they received during the comment period, CMS will include the measure in its star ratings, but the data will not be used in payment calculations to avoid unintentional penalties related to COVID-19.