TIP OF THE WEEK
New and Improved F323 – Accidents
The new and improved Tag F323 became effective Aug 6, 2007. The new F323 is a combination of previous tags F323 (Accidents) and 324 (Supervision to Prevent Accidents). The intent of this requirement is to ensure each facility provides an environment that is free from hazards over which the facility has control and that the facility provides appropriate supervision to each resident to prevent avoidable accidents.
The changes to the interpretive guidelines clarify areas such as resident supervision, hazard identification and resident risk, falls, unsafe wandering/elopement, environmental assessment of hazards, and resident-to-resident altercations. The investigative protocol explains objectives and procedures surveyors will need for their investigation. Deficiency categorization provides severity guidance for the determination of the correct level of severity of outcome to residents from deficiencies found at Tag F323.
In order to meet the intent of the regulation, the guidance provides information about four possible methods to help ensure the environment is as free from accident hazards as possible and that each resident receives adequate supervision and assistance devices to prevent accidents.
Possible methods include:
- Identifying hazards and risks
- Evaluating and analyzing hazards and risks
- Implementing interventions to reduce hazards and risks
- Monitoring for effectiveness and modifying interventions as indicated
A final copy of this new guidance will be available at http://www.cms.hhs.gov/Transmittals/ and will ultimately be incorporated into Appendix PP of the State Operations Manual. Also, the use of Tag F324 when surveying for compliance in the area of Accidents and Supervision will be discontinued. More information >>
RESOURCE SPOTLIGHT
Facility Assessment Checklists for Walking Improvement
Facility assessment checklists are tools used to assess current pressure walking management systems and identify areas for improvement. These checklists are designed for completion by a director of nursing or other team leader who knows the facility's processes of care.
Long-term care facilities: It’s time to reset your targets for quality measures. Please visit http://www.nhqi-star.org/
IN THE NEWS
PROGRAM COULD PROLONG SENIORS’ ABILITY TO LIVE INDEPENDENTLY
August 23, 2007 -- Newswire -- As the baby boomer generation faces retirement, there is heightened interest in the best ways to care for older adults and prolong their abilities to live independently. A new study looks at seniors’ abilities to perform essential daily functions after entering the PACE program, a large-scale managed-care initiative with 15,000 current U.S. participants. Read more >>
MEDICARE QUALITY INCENTIVES COULD TRANSFORM U.S. HEALTH CARE SYSTEM, OPINION PIECE STATES
September 4, 2007 -- Kaiser Network -- The Physician Quality Reporting Initiative, under which Medicare will begin to pay physicians a 1.5 percent bonus incentive for reporting quality measures, "represents a significant step toward public reporting and pay for performance," infectious disease physician Manoj Jain, a medical director for Medicare's quality improvement organizations in Tennessee and Georgia, writes in a New York Times opinion piece. According to Jain, "Soon doctors will be paid according to quality and value," and performance will be publicly reported to allow patients to "choose the best doctors." Jain adds, "With doctors' reputations at stake, they will have an incentive to improve." Read more >>
RULING MAY UNLOCK KEY DATA ON DOCTORS
August 30, 2007 -- LA Times -- In a little-noticed decision last week, a federal judge in Washington, D.C., ruled in favor of a consumer group that sued the Health and Human Services Department to allow disclosure of specific data about doctors from the Medicare claims database. Read more >>
CALL TO SCREEN ELDERLY FOR ABUSE
September 5, 2007 -- Australia News Network -- Screening elderly adults for signs of abuse may catch many more cases than otherwise would be, a new study suggests. Israeli researchers found that while six per cent of older adults in their study admitted to being abused by a family caregiver when asked directly, many more had evident signs of abuse or were at high risk of abuse.
The findings suggest that older adults should be routinely screened for signs of abuse, or risk factors for it, when they enter a hospital or a community service, the study's lead author told Reuters Health. Read more >>
OHIO KEPRO EVENTS
Guidelines and Coding for Restraints Teleconference
Featuring Carla Brumby and Patsy Strouse, Ohio Department of Health
November 8, 2007 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m.
Dial-in: 1.877.339.0018, Conf ID: *4477925*
Download the Flyer (PDF)
INDUSTRY EVENTS
Together We Make a Difference: Solutions for Senior Care 2007
October 5-7, 2007, Columbus Ohio
The conference features plenary sessions and didactic sessions on medical direction, physician-nurse practitioner collaboration, urinary incontinence, atrial fibrillation, appropriate medication prescribing, and the latest diabetic medications (Registration ends Sept 28, 2007). Contact Catherine Austin at (216) 778-8087, Executive Assistant of OMDA, for more details.
Medicare Learning Network:
Learning resources and products for the healthcare professional.
Alzheimer’s Association Training Events
Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine Courses
Ohio Department of Health, Technical Assistance Program – New Programs
Ohio Health Care Association Events
An archive of The Nursing Home Weekly Update is available on our Web site. Click here >>
