Survey & Certification Letters

• Organ Procurement Organizations (OPO) Agreements with Hospitals

  

• Surveyor Technical Assistant for Renal Disease (STAR) automated End Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) survey program upgrade release to coordinate with the ESRD Core Survey process roll-out Purpose:

  

• Office for Civil Rights (OCR) Clearance Process– Changes to State Survey Agency Responsibilities in Obtaining Information for Civil Rights Clearances for Initial Certifications and Changes of Ownership (CHOWs)

  

• Compliance with the Life Safety Code (LSC) in End Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) Facilities

  

• Provision of Inpatient Psychiatric Services to Individuals Under the Age of 21(Psych Under 21 Benefit) in Out-of-State Psychiatric Residential Treatment Facilities (PRTFs)

  

• Reminder: Access and Visitation Rights in Long Term Care (LTC) Facilities

  

• Changes to the Nursing Home Compare Website Data that is Available for Download on the Medicare.gov Website (Effective July 2013)

  

• Public Release of the Five-Star Quality Rating System Three-Year Report

  

• End Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) Home Dialysis Only Facilities Offering Home Hemodialysis (HHD), Home Peritoneal Dialysis (PD), or Both HHD and PD Modalities

  

• Notice –Revision to the Ninth Opportunity National Background Check Program Funding

  

• Guidance Regarding the Deployment of the Emergency Use Approval (EUA) Bird Flu Test (H7N9) to State Public Health Laboratories (PHLs) by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)

  

• Advance Copy– Changes for Sub-Task 5E, Medication Pass Observation Protocol for Long Term Care (LTC) Facilities

  

• Rollout of Quality Assurance and Performance Improvement (QAPI) Materials for Nursing Homes

  

• Release of Mandatory Surveyor Training Program on Care of Persons with Dementia and Unnecessary Antipsychotic Medication Use – Release of Third Video

  

• Advanced Copy: Dementia Care in Nursing Homes: Clarification to Appendix P State Operations Manual (SOM) and Appendix PP in the SOM for F309 – Quality of Care and F329 – Unnecessary Drugs

  

• Cost Allocations for Surveys of Home Health Agencies (HHAs)

  

• Revision to State Operations Manual (SOM), Hospital Appendix A - Interpretive Guidelines for 42 CFR 482.43, Discharge Planning

  

• Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) Medicare Enrollment Guidance Updated

  

• Delayed Publication of Scientific Registry for Transplant Recipients (SRTR) Program Specific Reports (PSR) and Implications for Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Transplant Program Oversight

  

• Utilizing the US Bureau of the Census’ (Census Bureau) American FactFinder 2010 Census Data for Rural Area Location Determinations - Hospital Swing Beds & Rural Health Clinics (RHC)