Are you in CMS Compliance?

A couple of things I’m pretty sure of:

1. The sun will set in the west.
2. Out of 24 hours in your day, very little of it is consumed with thoughts of the who, how, when, why and where of an emergency evacuation of your facility.

That’s why I strive for many of my articles to be quick hits of value that you need and want.

Here’s today’s effort to do just that …

If your facility is a Medicaid or Medicare provider, there are some super critical things you now must do (effective 15 November 2016).

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) requires that if you’re one of the 17 types of facilities defined, you must meet four (4) key criteria to be in CMS Compliance:

1. Emergency plan – Develop an All-Hazards emergency plan based on a risk assessment.
2. Policies and procedures – Develop and implement policies and procedures based on the emergency plan and risk assessment that are reviewed and updated at least annually.
   
3. Communication plan – Develop and maintain an emergency preparedness communication plan that complies with federal, state and local laws.
   
4. A training and testing program – Develop and maintain training and testing programs, including initial training in policies and procedures. Facility staff will have to demonstrate knowledge of emergency procedures and provide training at least 1x annually. Facilities must conduct drills and exercises to test the emergency plan or participate in an actual incident that tests the plan.

Here’s a short version of the rule (pdf).

If you want the ‘full monty’, the entire title is below with a link to the entire rule:

Medicare and Medicaid Programs; Emergency Preparedness Requirements for Medicare and Medicaid Participating Providers and Suppliers

If you’ve already started implementing the requirements, have you encountered any challenges you can share while trying to comply?