On Dec. 4, CMS issued a memo outlining changes to unfreeze the Five-Star ratings effective on Jan. 27, 2021. CMS plans to update the quality measures using data based on the following data collection periods: Assessment-based QMs through Jun. 30, 2020 Claims-based QMs through Jun. 30, 2020 QRP QMs through … Read More
CMS updates LTC survey process documents
Late last week, CMS posted updates to 2 components of the survey process: #1 is a regulatory reference correction found in both the Word and PDF versions of CMS-20054. These are found in the LTC Survey Pathways .zip file. #2 is also a regulatory reference correction found in the COVID-19 Focused Survey … Read More
HHS proposes modifications to the HIPAA privacy rule
On December 10, 2020, HHS and the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) announced “proposed changes to the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) Privacy Rule to support individuals’ engagement in their care, remove barriers to coordinated care, and reduce regulatory burdens on the health care industry. The Notice of Proposed Rulemaking … Read More
COVID-19 vaccine fact sheets and additional information
Pfizer has released several Fact Sheets relating to the just-approved COVID-19 vaccine: FACT SHEET FOR HEALTHCARE PROVIDERS ADMINISTERING VACCINE (29 pages) FACT SHEET FOR RECIPIENTS AND CAREGIVERS (6 pages) Global Information About Pfizer‑BioNTech COVID‑19 Vaccine (also known as BNT162b2) is also available for healthcare professionals as well as non-healthcare professionals. An adverse event … Read More
COVID-19 updates, information, etc. for second week of December 2020
Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices’ Interim Recommendation for Use of Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine — United States, December 2020 is the December 13, 2020 early release of CDC’s MMWR.