CMS is calling on stakeholders and experts to apply by June 1 and contribute direction and thoughtful input as its contractors RTI International and Abt Associates develop potentially avoidable readmission measures in alignment with the Improving Post-Acute Care Transformation (IMPACT) Act of 2014.
 
The idea of the IMPACT Act is to improve the overall quality of care, reduce costs and make care more patient-centered by tracking measures across settings, including skilled nursing facilities (SNFs), long-term care hospitals (LTCHs), inpatient rehabilitation facilities (IRFs) and home health agencies, CMS says.
 
By no later than Jan. 1, 2019, home health agencies will have to submit new, standardized quality data such as rehospitalization during the first 30 days of home health, percent of new or worsened pressure ulcers for patients or percent of patients experiencing one or more major falls. 
 
In the meantime, CMS’ contractors in July will convene a group 10-15 selected to provide input to the Technical Expert Panel to develop an approach for defining potentially preventable readmissions for post-acute care, the federal Medicare agency says.
 
The group will also be tasked with developing the potentially preventable readmission measures for the post-acute provide settings, including standardized items and specifications like inclusion/exclusion criteria and patient and facility characteristics — the risk-adjustment factors associated with outcome measures, CMS says.
 
CMS expects the Technical Expert Panel to meet once for an all-day, in-person meeting in July. RTI will request additional input from the panel members after the meeting, and work groups from the panel also will meet via webinar to discuss setting-specific issues, CMS says.
 
The expert panel will be comprised of people with the following areas of expertise and perspectives:
·         Cross-setting expertise: Post-acute care
·         Consumer/patient/family perspective
·         Performance measurement with regard to hospital readmissions
·         Quality improvement
·         Purchaser/insurer perspective
·         Research methodology, including risk adjustment
·         Data collection and implementation perspective
·         Health and health care disparities
 
For more information on how to apply or nominate someone for the panel, go to: http://tinyurl.com/oxa95ht.