The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has proposed changes in the terms under which hospitals may participate in Medicare and Medicaid.
Among those changes, hospitals must:
establish an infection prevention and control program with qualified leaders- establish an antibiotic stewardship program with qualified leaders
- establish policies prohibiting discrimination based on race, color, religion, national origin, general, sexual orientation, age, and disability
- incorporate readmission and hospital-acquired conditions information into their Quality Assessment and Performance Improvement program
- improve their medical record-keeping and provide for patient access to those records
Learn more what CMS has proposed and why it has proposed it in this CMS news release and this CMS fact sheet. CMS is accepting comments about the proposed changes until August 15. Find a link to the proposed rule itself here.