Every hospital that accepts Medicare and Medicaid must adhere to the CMS discharge planning guidelines. These standards apply to all patients, not just those covered by Medicare or Medicaid. CMS mandates specific discharge planning policies and procedures, and this webinar will outline which ones are required and the reasons behind CMS's updates to these standards.

This session by industry expert Laura A. Dixon, will cover the Impact Act and its influence on hospital discharge planning, including standardized assessment, quality data, and resource data requirements. Hospitals are required to assist patients with post-discharge care options such as home health services, skilled nursing facilities, long-term care hospitals, and inpatient rehabilitation facilities, providing information on all four except for Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs).

Patients are entitled to timely access to their medical records, which must include details of the discharge planning process, discharge instructions, and discharge planning requirements. This webinar will also address the following topics:

  • Transfers to other facilities
  • Assessment of readmission within 30 days
  • Caregiver rights and recommendations
  • Reduction of factors leading to preventable readmissions
  • Timely discharge planning

Additionally, the discharge planning conditions of participation for Critical Access Hospitals will be briefly discussed, highlighting their alignment with the requirements for acute care hospitals.

Webinar Objectives
  • Discuss the revised discharge planning requirements by CMS for all hospitals and critical access hospitals.
  • Recall how patients and physicians can request a discharge planning evaluation.
  • Discuss the importance of providing hospitalization information to the physician or provider before the first post-hospital visit.
  • Describe the patient’s right to timely access their medical records, including a copy of their discharge plan.

Webinar Agenda
  • Introduction
  • Deficiency data for discharge planning
  • Discharge planning process and the IMPACT Act
  • Identification of patients needing discharge planning
  • Role of support person
  • Incapacitated patient
  • Discharge planning process
  • RN, social worker, or qualified person to develop evaluation
  • Timely evaluation
  • Discussion of evaluation with patient or individual acting on their behalf
  • Discharge evaluation in the medical record
  • Documentation of the discharge process
  • Discharge plan
  • Physician request for discharge planning
  • Implementation of the patient’s discharge plan
  • Reassessment of the discharge plan
  • Freedom of choice for post-acute care providers
  • Transfer or referral
  • Critical Access Hospital Discharge planning requirements
  • Discharge planning metrics
  • Appendix and Resources

Who Should Attend?
  • Discharge planners
  • Transitional care nurses
  • Social workers
  • All staff nurses who discharge patients in a hospital setting
  • Chief nursing officer
  • Nurse educators
  • Chief operation officer
  • Chief medical officers
  • Physicians
  • Risk managers
  • Regulatory/Compliance officer
  • UR nurses
  • Joint Commission coordinator
  • Chief executive officer
  • Nurse managers
  • PI director
  • Health information director
  • Patient safety officer
  • Any person serving on a hospital committee to redesign the discharge process to prevent unnecessary readmissions.