Home Health & Hospice Week

Reporting burden spares HHAs from staff vaccination measure — for now.

Look to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to figure out what “up to date” means for the newly proposed quality measure on the topic.

Reminder: One of the two new quality measures the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has proposed adding to the HH Quality Reporting Program is COVID-19 Vaccine: Percent of Patients/Residents Who Are Up to Date (Patient/Resident COVID-19 Vaccine).

A participant in the July 12 Home Health Open Door Forum asked how CMS defines “up to date” for the QM.

CMS refers providers to the CDC website and its guidance on the matter, CMS’ Jermama Keys responded.

This measure isn’t entirely out of agencies’ hands, CMS points out in the proposed rule published in the July 10 Federal Register. “Since the patient’s COVID-19 vaccination status would be reported at discharge from the HHA, if a patient is not up to date with their COVID-19 vaccination per applicable CDC guidance at the time they are admitted, the HHA has the opportunity to educate the patient and provide information on why they should become up to date with their COVID-19 vaccination,” CMS highlights. “HHAs may also choose to administer the vaccine to the patient prior to their discharge from the HHA or coordinate a follow up visit for the patient to obtain the vaccine at their physician’s office or local pharmacy,” the rule notes.

Watch out: CMS hints in the rule that it may still look at vaccination status for employees to become part of the HH QRP. “There have been COVID-19 Vaccination Coverage among Healthcare Personnel (HCP) measures adopted by the Skilled Nursing Facility (SNF) QRP, the Intermediate Rehabilitation Facility (QRP) and the Long-term Care Hospital (LTCH) QRP that captures the percentage of HCPs who receive a complete COVID–19 vaccination course,” CMS points out. “We also identified Nursing Home (NH) COVID-19 vaccine rates posted on Care Compare,” it adds.

But “HHAs do not report patient/resident or HCP COVID-19 vaccination” already, so for now they are spared from that extra duty, CMS says.

Note: Current CDC guidance is at www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/stay-up-to-date.html.