News Briefs
CMS requires some findings be treated as deficiencies
COP-related findings should not pose problems
When the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) granted The Joint Commis-sion's deeming authority for another six years, some news reports pointed to a change in the way in which supplemental findings are handled as detrimental to a home care organization's ability to achieve accreditation.
"These reports were inaccurate," says Debra Zak, PhD, RN, executive director, Home Care Accreditation Program of The Joint Commission. "A small subset of Joint Commission standards correspond to CMS' Conditions of Participation (COP)," she explains. Joint Commission surveyors who are conducting deemed status surveys along with the accreditation survey will evaluate the organization's compliance with The Joint Commission standards that correspond to CMS' Conditions of Participation (CO)P. While a surveyor can record a supplemental finding for Joint Commission standards, CMS requires that organizations respond to all findings related to COPs as they would a deficiency. This means that a home health agency must respond to the finding, file a plan of correction and submit follow-up information, she explains. This requirement by CMS does not differ from the surveys conducted by state agencies, so home health agencies are not being penalized for seeking a deemed status survey, she adds.
A significant number of The Joint Commission standards require more than CMS' COPs, says Zak. For this reason, most home health agencies are already meeting higher standards than required by the COPs, so they are most likely to meet the CMS requirements, she says.
Home care agencies that have previously undergone deemed status surveys with The Joint Commission in the past do need to be aware that CMS now requires responses to all findings related to COPs, but it is not expected to affect the overall accreditation effort, says Zak. "This change related to COPs is CMS-driven but should not be a problem for our accredited organizations."
When the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) granted The Joint Commis-sion's deeming authority for another six years, some news reports pointed to a change in the way in which supplemental findings are handled as detrimental to a home care organization's ability to achieve accreditation.You have reached your article limit for the month. Subscribe now to access this article plus other member-only content.
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