The Joint Commission’s deeming authority for home infusion therapy was renewed by the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), effective Dec. 15, 2023 through Dec. 15, 2029, as announced in the Dec. 14, 2023, Federal Register.
Home infusion therapy suppliers that want to obtain Medicare reimbursement for the nursing component of that service must be accredited by an accrediting organization that has been awarded deeming authority for home infusion therapy by CMS. There is no state survey option for home infusion therapy suppliers, so accreditation on its own is the only means of satisfying the reimbursement requirement. If organizations are not accredited by an approved accrediting organization, they will not qualify for or receive reimbursement from CMS for the nursing component of the home infusion therapy service.
Home infusion therapy involves professional services (including nursing services) provided in accordance with a physician-established plan of care that describes the type, amount, and duration of infusion therapy services to be furnished. A qualified home infusion therapy supplier provides infusion therapy to patients needing it for acute or chronic conditions, offers patient training and education, and remote monitoring services 24/7.
Organizations that are not currently accredited, but interested in obtaining Medicare reimbursement for the nursing component of the home infusion therapy service must participate in an unannounced home care survey and achieve a decision of “Accredited” prior to submitting requests for reimbursement.
For more information, please contact the Business Development home care accreditation team at homecare@jointcommission.org or 630-792-5070.
There’s still time to send in your comments for the proposed revisions to the Infection Prevention and Control (IC) chapter requirements for the Home Care, Nursing Care Center, and Assisted Living Community Accreditation Programs. The IC chapter underwent a full revision and will replace current IC chapter requirements. The comment period ends Feb. 21, 2024.
Beginning January 2024, the following Accelerate PI™ Dashboard Reports containing Centers for Medicaid and Medicare (CMS) data were discontinued
- Hospital (HAP-Other)
- Inpatient psychiatric (HAP-IPF)
- Inpatient rehabilitation (HAP-IRF)
- Long term acute care (HAP-LTCH)
- Critical access hospital (CAH-Other)
- Ambulatory surgery center (ASC)
Customer feedback informed the decision to stop production of the reports, citing lack of timely data as the main reason for not utilizing the tool.
Hospitals and critical access hospitals will continue to receive dashboard reports containing chart-abstracted quality measures and eCQMs data submitted to The Joint Commission under the ORYX® program. Home health, hospice, and nursing care centers will continue to receive reports that contain data on select measures from the Centers of Medicaid and Medicare.
The Joint Commission anticipates creating a new report using data from the Centers for Disease Control National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN). The new report would expedite performance data on the Healthcare-Associated Infection (HAI) measures formerly reported in the retired CMS Accelerate PI reports for hospitals.
There’s still time to register for the webinar on the New Measure Review of the Global Malnutrition Composite Score (GMCS) eCQM. The webinar is on Feb. 22, 2024, at noon Eastern | 11 a.m. Central | 10 a.m. Mountain | 9 a.m. Pacific.
Questions from JIRA and other sources will be addressed. Additionally, participants will be invited to submit questions for response by subject matter experts during a live Q&A segment. The learning objectives are:
- Navigate the eCQI Resource Center website to locate measure specifications, value sets, measure flow diagrams and technical release notes.
- Apply concepts learned about the logic and intent for the GMCS eCQM.
- Prepare to implement the GMCS eCQM for the 2024 eCQM reporting period.
- Identify common issues and questions regarding the GMCS eCQM.
Slides will be available for download from within the webinar platform approximately one hour before the broadcast begins. The recording, slides, and Q&A document will be available on The Joint Commission website within several weeks of the broadcast, following CMS approval. The webinar is approved for continuing education (CE) credit.
In 2023 many accredited healthcare organizations assisted The Joint Commission in further strengthening performance measurement and quality improvement by sharing important learnings with hospitals and health systems across the U.S. Contributions to The Joint Commission’s performance measurement initiatives and projects is highlighted below. We would like to thank these organizations for their support and participation.
Accelerate PI™ (performance improvement) webinar series:
Provides tools, resources, and examples to assist organizations with quality performance improvement initiatives that lead to consistent, high-quality patient care.
- Using Data to Identify Disparities Across Patient Groups – This webinar focused on stratification of key patient safety and quality measures to examine health care disparities and assist organizations on the journey to health care equity, regardless of where they are on the path.
- Missouri Hospital Association – Jefferson City, Missouri
- Missouri University Health – Kansas City, Missouri
- Physicians Engagement in Quality Improvement – This webinar shared resources and real-life examples of identifying and engaging physician leaders in quality improvement efforts.
- Wisconsin Hospital Association – Fitchburg, Wisconsin
Patient safety and hospital harm eCQMs pilot testing in collaboration with AIR:
In collaboration with the American Institutes for Research (AIR), The Joint Commission engaged organizations to pilot test patient safety and hospital harm electronic clinical quality measures (eCQMs). These organizations assisted in developing important measure-related initiatives, including data collection, feasibility, reliability, and/or validity measure testing.
East Alabama Medical Center – Opelika, Alabama
Loma Linda University Health – Loma Linda, California
Hackensack Meridian Mountainside Medical Center – Montclair, New Jersey
Northwell Health – New Hyde Park, New York
Maria Parham Health – Henderson, North Carolina
Hospital Menonita Guayama – Guayama, Puerto Rico
Early access of CY 2023 DDSP eCQM module and chart-abstracted measure (CAM) module:
The Joint Commission recognizes the following organizations, which participated in the early access and testing of the calendar year (CY) 2023 Direct Data Submission Platform (DDSP) prior to its launch. These organizations provided valuable feedback, which assisted with the successful launch of DDSP updates.
University of Alabama at Birmingham – Birmingham, Alabama
North Alabama Medical Center – Florence, Alabama
RCHP Florence, LLC – Muscle Shoals, Alabama
Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center – Los Angeles, California
Northwest Community Hospital – Arlington Heights, Illinois
RHN Scott Memorial Health – Scottsburg, Indiana
Spring View Hospital – Lebanon, Kentucky
Pinelake Regional Hospital – Mayfield, Kentucky
Newark Beth Israel Medical Center – Newark, New Jersey
DLP Person Memorial Hospital, LLC – Roxboro, North Carolina
DLP Rutherford Regional Health System, LLC – Rutherfordton, North Carolina
DLP Wilson Medical Center, LLC – Wilson, North Carolina
Willamette Valley Medical Center – McMinnville, Oregon
Cookeville Regional Medical Center – Cookeville, Tennessee
Henry County Medical Center – Paris, Tennessee
Southern Tennessee Medical Center, LLC – Winchester, Tennessee
Essent PRMC, LP – Paris, Texas
Westpark Springs, LLC – Richmond, Texas
Danville Regional Medical Center, LLC – Danville, Virginia
Kempsville Center for Behavioral Health – Norfolk, Virginia
Clinch Valley Medical Center – Richards, Virginia
Fauquier Medical Center, LLC – Warrenton, Virginia
Wythe County Community Hospital, LLC – Wytheville, Virginia
Raleigh General Hospital, LLC – Beckley, West Virginia
River Park Hospital – Huntington, West Virginia
RCCH Trios Health, LLC – Kennewick, Washington
UHS of Wyoming, Inc. – Casper, Wyoming