On October 2, 2020, the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) renewed the declaration of the COVID-19 national public health emergency (PHE), and it will now extend through at least January 20, 2021 (unless the Secretary renews the PHE again). This means that most of the Section 1135 and … Read More
International Infection Prevention Week: October 18 – 24, 2020
Yes, there’s a week for this and it couldn’t be timelier this year and this week (every week actually). COVID-19 has shown the world what we’ve always known—infection preventionists (IPs) are essential to keeping the world safe. In addition to all the usual suspects (healthcare-associated infections, resurgence in measles outbreaks, … Read More
Pharmacy partnership for long-term care program
Late afternoon Friday, October 16, 2020, NHSN/CDC sent the following letter to NHSN LTCF Users: Dear NHSN Long-term Care Facility Users, Immunization with a safe and effective COVID-19 vaccine is a critical component of our Nation’s strategy to reduce COVID-19 related illness, hospitalizations, and deaths. Early in the COVID-19 vaccination … Read More
SNF QRP measure calculations and reporting user’s manual updated
CMS has provided an Addendum to this User’s Manual. The information in the Addendum is effective October 1, 2020 to coincide with the implementation of the MDS 3.0 Item Set, version 1.17.2. It’s a .zip file so this is what you’ll see when you open it: The Skilled Nursing Facility Quality Reporting … Read More
Expansion of telehealth services in Medicaid and Medicare
On October 14, 2020, CMS expanded the list of telehealth services that Medicare Fee-For-Service will pay for during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) Public Health Emergency (PHE). CMS is also providing additional support to state Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) agencies in their efforts to expand access to … Read More