To become an accredited Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), obtaining accreditation is essential. Without proper accreditation, a healthcare facility isn’t able to receive money from Medicare or Medicaid, and can’t provide essential services to its patrons. The process for CMS accreditation is simple: a...
Survey citations are issued for various reasons, and poor design factors in healthcare facilities could lead to citations. Everything from long-term care facilities to dental practices to dialysis clinics could be affected by poor design decisions. The risk of healthcare-associated infections is a real concern,...
The Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC) hosts the largest gathering of infection prevention professionals in the world. This conference hosts an impressive lineup of industry professionals and accredited experts in the field. With over 100 sessions delving into innovative solutions for...
The first part of this series discussed general survey preparation and specific elements of the infection control program likely to be surveyed in Ambulatory Surgery Centers (ASCs) and hospitals. This post will examine what surveyors will most likely observe when looking at practice. Since surveyors...
Review your facility’s most recent CMS and accreditation surveys. CMS surveyors (typically your state health department) will gather information about your facility prior to their arrival, including prior surveys. The surveyors may opt to focus on problematic areas from the most recent CMS and/or accreditation...
The citations were related to cleaning, disinfection, and sterilization of medical equipment (e.g. instruments, flexible endoscopes, and ultrasound probes). To avoid a citation, standardize cleaning, disinfection and sterilization processes, including point of use cleaning in all areas performing high-level disinfection or sterilization throughout the facility. If...
In America, Medicare and Medicaid pay for primary health care services for millions of people. In 2015, Medicare reported over 55 million enrollees, and in 2017, Medicaid reported over 74 million enrollees, for a total of 129,000,000 people receiving federal health care benefits from the...