Discharge Planning New Rules Effective December 1: Compliance with the New CMS Hospital & CAH CoPs

This program will cover the new final changes to the discharge planning standards that became effective December 1, 2019. These were published in the Federal Register on September 30, 2019. CMS will publish revised interpretive guidelines and survey procedures to match the new regulations. These apply to all hospitals, including critical access hospitals CAHs. Hospitals will be happy to find out that CMS scaled back on many of the proposed rules that hospitals had expressed concern about.

This program will also discuss the IMPACT Act and how if affects hospital discharge planning. It requires hospitals to assist patient with post-discharge care such as home health, skilled nursing facilities, long term care hospitals and inpatient rehab facilities. Patients have freedom of choice and now information on all four must be provided except for CAHs.

New regulations cover sections on patient timely access to medical records, the discharge planning process, discharge instructions, discharge planning requirements. It will cover transfers to other facilities, assessment of readmission within 30 days, caregiver rights and recommendations, reduction of factors that lead to preventable readmissions, timely discharge planning, and more.

This program will also cover what was not adopted by CMS. In many sections that were not adopted, CMS made recommendations to hospitals. This includes the prescription drug monitoring program, the 24 hour requirement to initiate a discharge plan, 8 things to be in the discharge planning assessment, 21 things to be included in the transfer form, medication reconciliation, the discharge summary and instructions must be sent within 48 hours of discharge and more. Is your hospital familiar with the interpretive guidelines and the worksheet information? This worksheet is used by State and Federal surveyors on all survey activity in hospitals assessing compliance with the discharge planning standards. Come learn what other important things CMS has in their final worksheet which addresses preventing hospital readmissions.

Healthcare compliance expert Sue Dill Calloway, will discuss about what your hospital has to do to be in compliance with the discharge planning standards. CMS has published data showing the number of deficiencies that hospitals have already received in the discharge planning standards and this data will be provided. CMS has included something new in the memo known as “blue boxes”.The expert will show you how to use the blue boxes recommendations to improve patient outcomes.

Optimal discharge planning can help prevent unnecessary readmissions. Hospitals that have a higher readmission rate can be financially penalized. In fact, 2,573 hospitals forfeited $564 million. Discharge planning is not only important to ensure compliance with the CMS standards but also for reimbursement.

Session Agenda

• CMS issues revised hospital & CAH Discharge Planning requirements


• Transmittal issued and into final manual


• How this will impact the Discharge Planning Worksheet


• CMS Deficiency Memo shows this is a problematic area


• Blue box or advisory boxes


• Identification of patients in need of discharge planning


• Discharge planning evaluation, Timely evaluation, Plan of care


• RN, social worker or qualified person to develop evaluation


• Discussion of evaluation with patient or individual acting on their behalf


• Discharge evaluation must be in the medical record


• Discharge plan, Documentation of discharge process


• Physician request for discharge planning


• Implementation of the patient’s discharge plan


• Reassessment of the discharge plan


• Freedom of choice for LTC, LTCH,  home health agencies and inpatient rehab


• Transfer or referral

Session Objectives

• Discuss the CMS has revised the discharge planning requirements that apply to all hospitals and critical access hospitals


• Recall patients and physicians can request a discharge planning evaluation


• Discuss that information about the hospitalization must be provided to the physician or provider before the first post hospital visit


• Describe that the patient has a right to get medical records timely including a copy of their discharge plan

Who Should Attend?

Discharge planners, transitional care nurses, Chief nursing officer, Compliance officer, Chief operation officer, Chief medical officers, Physicians, all nurses with direct patient care, Risk managers, Social workers, Regulatory officer, Physician advisor, UR nurses, Joint Commission coordinator, nurse educators, Chief executive officer, Nurse managers, PI director, Health information director, Billing office director, Patient safety officer. Any person serving on a hospital committee to redesign the discharge process to prevent unnecessary readmissions should also attend.

Ask a question at the Q&A session following the live event and get advice unique to your situation, directly from our expert speaker.

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