OIG: CMS lacks the tooth to make sure hospitals are prepared for rising infectious illnesses

A federal watchdog discovered the Facilities for Medicare & Medicaid Companies (CMS) lacked the authority to make sure that accredited hospitals had acceptable rising infectious illness preparedness plans in place throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.

In a report launched Monday, the Division of Well being and Human Companies Workplace of Inspector Basic (HHS OIG) discovered that CMS was solely in a position to request, not require, that non-public accreditation organizations carry out particular focused an infection management surveys among the many roughly 4,200 hospitals to which they supply accreditation.

These accreditation organizations suspended their regular reaccreditation surveys and had not carried out any of the requested particular surveys as of January 2021, with some saying that doing so can be unsafe, the OIG wrote. They as an alternative opted to carry out digital accreditation surveys that “positioned an extra emphasis on an infection management.”  

The OIG famous {that a} fraction of accredited hospitals had been nonetheless surveyed final yr by state survey companies, over which CMS does have authority, however that these and different mitigation efforts didn’t come near reaching the company’s total rising illness preparedness aim.

“CMS’ restricted authority creates a big threat that it won’t be able to make sure high quality and security on the almost 4,200 accredited hospitals all through america the subsequent time an rising infectious illness threatens the nation,” the OIG wrote within the report.

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CMS’ addition of rising infectious illnesses to hospitals’ required emergency preparedness plans got here in 2019 however didn’t take impact till February 2020, the OIG wrote.

With accrediting organizations solely required to conduct a reaccreditation survey as soon as each three years, the company wouldn’t be capable to guarantee all hospitals had been compliant with the brand new an infection management steerage till 2022 with out the particular surveys.

The OIG stated that the precise controls CMS laid out for hospitals in 2019 had been “well-designed and carried out,” however really helpful regulatory adjustments that may enable the company to require non-public accreditation organizations to carry out particular surveys throughout a public well being emergency or after CMS points substantive new participation necessities or steerage.

The OIG carried out its audit from April 2020 by means of April 2021. The watchdog stated that it offered a draft report that included its suggestions to CMS and, in a letter from CMS Administrator Chiquita Brooks-Lasure dated June 2, 2021, obtained a heat response from its fellow HHS entity.

“CMS concurs with making regulatory adjustments to require [accrediting organizations] to carry out particular surveys of hospitals primarily based on CMS’ discretion,” Brooks-Lasure wrote within the response letter. “As OIG acknowledged, CMS’ authority over [state survey agencies], and their capability to conduct criticism surveys, mitigated the extent of the impact of [accrediting organizations] not performing focused an infection management surveys.”