Advisories

New Hospital Accreditation Program Offers Hospitals More Choices

October 07, 2008 On September 26, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services approved Det Norske Veritas (DNV) Healthcare Inc.'s accreditation program for hospitals seeking to participate in Medicare or Medicaid.
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Adoption of ICD-10-CM and ICD-10-PCS Members Only

September 23, 2008 On August 15, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released a proposed rule to modify the medical data code set standards and adopt ICD-10-CM for coding of patient diagnoses and ICD-10-PCS for coding of hospital procedures.
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AHA Quality Advisory on Implementing Standardized Colors for Patient Alert Wristbands

September 04, 2008 America's hospitals are committed to delivering safe care. To alert caregivers to certain patient risks, many facilities use color-coded patient wristbands. However, if hospitals use different colors for these alerts, caregivers working in more than one facility may have difficulty always responding in the appropriate manner. Standardizing the colors of the wristbands used in hospitals is the sensible approach to improving patient safety, and many state hospital associations have already engaged their hospitals in this effort. As the national advocate for America's hospitals, the AHA is asking all hospitals to consider using three standardized colors for alert wristbands. The colors, which have been adopted as a consensus in numerous states, are: red for patient allergies; yellow for a fall risk; and purple for do-not-resuscitate patient preferences.
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IRS Releases Final Instructions to Form 990, Including Schedule H

August 21, 2008 On August 19, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) released final instructions for the redesigned Form 990 and 16 related schedules, including Schedule H - Hospitals, designated solely for tax-exempt hospitals.
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Inpatient Rehabilitation Facilities: The Final Rule For FY 2009 Members Only

August 20, 2008 The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) in the August 8 Federal Register published the inpatient rehabilitation facility (IRF) prospective payment system (PPS) final rule for fiscal year (FY) 2009.
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Skilled Nursing Facilities: The Final Rule for FY 2009 Members Only

August 20, 2008 The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) in the August 8 Federal Register published the skilled nursing facility (SNF) prospective payment system final rule for fiscal year (FY) 2009.
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Medicare Inpatient PPS: The Final Rule For Fiscal Year 2009 Members Only

August 18, 2008 On July 31, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released its fiscal year (FY) 2009 final rule for the hospital inpatient prospective payment system(PPS). The final rule was published in the August 19 Federal Register and will take effect October 1.
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New Hospital Compare Data to be Publicly Available August 19

August 15, 2008 On August 19, the Hospital Compare Web site (www.HospitalCompare.hhs.gov) will be updated to contain new and refreshed information on several conditions.
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Medicare Outpatient PPS and ASC Proposed Rule for 2009 Members Only

August 06, 2008 On July 3, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released the outpatient prospective payment system (PPS) and ambulatory surgical center (ASC) proposed rule for calendar year 2009
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Medicare Rural Health Clinics Proposed Rule Members Only

July 22, 2008 The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) published in the June 27 Federal Register a proposed rule changing the conditions of participation (CoPs) and payment provisions for rural health clinics (RHCs).
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