The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has completely overhauled the survey process for hospices. The revision goes into effect immediately. The 196-page memo provides the details of the changes to Appendix M of the State Operations Manual and CMS Hospice Basic Surveyor Training.
The refining of the CMS hospice survey process is “to focus on quality-of-care findings in the survey process. This approach prioritizes the surveyors’ time and attention to those elements that impact the quality of care provided directly to the patient and their family.”
The new survey procedure requires more research and investigation during the pre-survey process….