Several costly and common hospital-acquired conditions are not addressed by CMS' HAC policies, according to recently released analysis.
CMS has implemented several payment policies in recent years that are intended to encourage hospitals to focus on improving the quality of care provided to their patients. For example, CMS' original payment policy related to HACs, implemented in fiscal year 2009, doesn't allow certain inpatient conditions to qualify for higher payments. Starting in FY 2015, hospitals scoring in the top national quartile for the rate of HACs will see reduced Medicare payments. Also, the value based purchasing and accountable care programs tie Medicare payments to certain quality metrics, including HAC rates.
However, Premier's analysis found these payment policies cover just a small portion of expensive, common HACs.
In an analysis of nearly six million ICD-9 coded hospital discharge records based on their association with morality risk, increased length of stay and cost, Premier developed a list of 86 potential high-impact inpatient complications. "Though some of these high-impact complications are covered in the [CMS] HAC policies, many are not," according to the report.
In fact, just 22 of the Premier-identified high-impact HACs are evaluated through federal payment policies.
"Although the CMS HACs are important events to prevent, an exclusive focus on these conditions will miss opportunities to indentify and improve care processes for other complications whose elimination could substantially lower mortality, length of stay and costs," according to the report.
More Articles on Infection Control:
SHEA, APIC & Others Develop New Guidelines to Combat MRSA in Hospitals
1-Day Nasal Treatment as Effective as 5-Day Treatment for S. aureus Colonization
4 Recommendations for Vertical, Horizontal HAI Prevention