On November 20, 2015, CMS is publishing two notices requesting public comments on the development of surveys regarding patient and family member experiences with the care received in (1) inpatient rehabilitation facilities (IRFs), and (2) long-term care hospitals (LTCHs).
With regard to the IRF Patient and Family Member Experience of Care (PEC) survey, when fully developed, CMS will consider proposing it for adoption as a quality measure under the IRF Quality Reporting Program. CMS is particularly interested in the submission of suggested topic areas such as communication with providers, rehabilitation, functional status, pain management/control or non-pain symptom management, discharge planning, family training, rehabilitation services, medical and nursing care, interdisciplinary team goal setting, and care planning.
CMS will develop the LTCH PEC survey for potential adoption under the LTCH Quality Reporting Program. CMS notes that this planned survey differs from other CMS PEC surveys because the target population consists of patients who have complex and severe conditions and are in need of critical care-related services for an extended period of time. Topic areas for this survey could include: communication with providers, mechanical ventilation, therapy services, wound care, pain management/control or non-pain symptom management, rehabilitation services, medical and nursing care, interdisciplinary team goal setting, care planning, family training, and discharge planning.
For both surveys, CMS is soliciting information on publicly-available instruments and measures that can be used to capture patients' or family members' experiences in a variety of formats. Comments on the surveys will be accepted for 60 days after publication.
This article is presented for informational purposes only and is not intended to constitute legal advice.
