Section 2(a) of the Improving Medicare Post-Acute Care Transformation Act of 2014 (the IMPACT Act) requires post-acute providers to submit standardized patient assessment data, as well as standardized data on quality measures and resource use and other measures.
A standard acute care instrument, effective October 2016, would incorporate elements from the MDS (skilled nursing facilities), OASIS (home health agencies) and IRF-PAI (consisting of items from the Functional Independence Measure for inpatient rehabilitation facilities). Each of these tools utilizes “different terminology and definitions in describing functional ability, as well as different scales for quantifying disability.” They also measure different health domains, and items within similar domains are assessed differently (e.g., time period).
A uniform PAC assessment instrument would 1) clarify goals of care, incorporate patient (caregiver) preferences and enhance discharge planning; i.e., placement decisions, 2) facilitate transition management through interoperable core data transfer and 3) allow for the generation of longitudinal data analytics (e.g., outcomes, cost-effectiveness of alternative settings).
“A standard acute care instrument, effective October 2016, would incorporate elements from the MDS (skilled nursing facilities), OASIS (home health agencies) and IRF-PAI (consisting of items from the Functional Independence Measure for inpatient rehabilitation facilities).”
Requires Standardized Patient Assessment Data that will enable:
- Data Element uniformity
- Quality care and improved outcomes
- Comparison of quality and data across post-acute care (PAC) settings
- Improved discharge planning
- Exchangeability of data
- Coordinated care
Lisa Remington is president and publisher of the Remington Report magazine and President of Remington’s Home Care Leadership Think Tank. She has worked with more than 10,000 organizations in both a consultancy role and an educator. Lisa monitors the complex key trends and forces of change to develop a correct strategic approach to de-risk decision-making and create sustainable futures across the healthcare continuum.