Input Sought on New SNF Quality Reporting Program Measure
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has contracted with Acumen, LLC to develop a claims-based quality measure of healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) for the Skilled Nursing Facility Quality Reporting Program (SNF QRP). Interested stakeholders may submit input on the draft measure through Oct. 14, 2020.
The SNF HAIs Requiring Hospitalizations measure will estimate the risk-standardized rate of HAIs acquired during SNF care resulting in hospitalization. These HAIs will be identified using the principal diagnosis on the Medicare hospital claims for SNF residents during the time window beginning on day four after SNF admission and within day three after SNF discharge. The measure will be risk-adjusted to allow comparison based on residents with similar characteristics between SNFs.
The HAI definition in this measure includes conditions selected based on the following conceptual criteria:
- Infections likely to be acquired during SNF care and severe enough to require hospitalization (e.g., life-threatening MRSA infections); and
- Infections related to invasive (not implanted) medical devices (e.g., associated with catheters, insulin pumps, and central lines; infection of tracheostomy stoma).
According to CMS, an HAI is defined as an infection acquired while receiving care at a health care facility that was not present or incubating at the time of admission. If the prevention and treatment of HAIs are poorly managed, they can cause poor health care outcomes for patients and lead to wasteful resource use. Most HAIs are considered potentially preventable because they are outcomes related to processes or structures of care. In other words, these infections typically result from inadequate management of patients following a medical intervention, such as surgery or device implantation, or poor adherence to hygiene protocol and antibiotic stewardship guidelines. Measuring HAIs among SNF residents can therefore provide valuable information about SNFs’ quality of care.
CMS seeks input on this draft SNF QRP measure; further details on the measure are provided on the CMS website. Visit the Public Comments webpage for more information on the input sought. Please submit comments to QM-Public-Comment@acumenllc.com by Oct. 14th to be considered.
Contact: Dan Heim, dheim@leadingageny.org, 518-867-8866