Global cases are approaching 100,000 as the U.S. braces for the worst.
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has suspended non-emergency facility inspections nationwide as a measure to free up resources to focus more acutely on the COVID-19 respiratory virus, officials announced on Wednesday.
“CMS is committed to taking critical steps to ensure America’s healthcare facilities and clinical laboratories are prepared to respond to the threat,” the agency said in a memorandum posted to its website, adding that the move is intended to allow “inspectors to turn their focus on the most serious health and safety threats.”
The number of cases of so-called coronavirus is reportedly approaching 100,000 worldwide, resulting in more than 3,000 deaths, with the vast majority of both thus far occurring in mainland China.
But with more than 150 cases and 11 deaths reported in the U.S. to date, including multiple patients in major metropolitan centers such as Seattle and New York City, government and healthcare authorities are bracing for what’s next. The U.S. House of Representatives reportedly voted 415-2 on Wednesday to approve $8.3 billion in federal emergency funding to address the issue nationwide, and the legislation is expected to be approved by the Senate by week’s end en route to the President’s desk.
CMS’s memo was forwarded to state survey agencies, providing guidelines indicating that effective immediately, survey activity was limited to the following, in priority order:
The memo also features protocols for the “coordination and investigation of facilities with actual or suspected COVID-19 cases,” noting that whenever a confirmed or presumptive positive case presents to any Medicare- or Medicaid-certified provider, state survey agencies are being asked to immediately do the following:
“These protocols will be updated as circumstances warrant,” CMS added in the memo. “We are asking accrediting organizations to copy their CMS AO liaison on any communications with the CMS Regional Office.”
To review the memo in its entirety, go online to https://www.cms.gov/files/document/qso-20-12-allpdf.pdf-1.
CMS also indicated that it will be posting updated FAQs on the coronavirus response in real-time at the following website: https://www.cms.gov/medicare/quality-safety-oversight-generalinformation/coronavirus
In my travels to hospitals across the country and time spent in emergency rooms shadowing the critical work of social workers, I’ve seen firsthand the
Healthcare has been transitioning toward a more digital, interconnected ecosystem for many years, but the pace and magnitude of current changes represent a fundamental shift.
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