IV RU.M.R (Politically Useful Messages for Practicing Nurses) PAYMENT TO HOSPITALS FOR HOSPITAL-ACQUIRED CONDITIONS PROHIBITED BY CMS IN 2008

摘要

Having INS' Infusion Nursing Standards of Practice and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's "Guidelines for the Prevention of Intravascular Catheter-Related Infections, 2002" fresh on the minds of staff and evident in their practice may have never been more of a priority to hospital employers than now. As of October 2008, under a new rule adopted by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), treatment for vascular catheter-associated infection when submitted as a patient's secondary diagnosis will no longer be paid for by the CMS. Vascular catheter-associated infection is 1 of 8 conditions the CMS has identified as hospital-acquired, preventable, and resulting in nonpayment later this year. Hospitals should be working diligently now to ensure that infusion nurses and staff from all departments throughout the facility are involved in identifying the patient safety and financial risks associated with the CMS rule, and in developing effective strategies and implementing action plans that strictly follow standards and guidelines to avoid these adverse outcomes.