November 17 Is The Deadline To Comply With New CMS Emergency Preparedness Rules

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In November 2016, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) came out with the Final Rule for emergency preparedness and business continuity for the healthcare industry. It is applicable to 17 different types of healthcare providers and has to be implemented within one year. Compliance with these emergency management regulations can mean life or death in cases of natural and man-made disasters such as September 11 attacks, Hurricanes Matthew, Katrina and Sandy, and public health emergencies such as Ebola pandemic.

According to the National Law Review, the CMS Final Rule is applicable on health care suppliers and service providers such as hospitals and critical access hospitals, ambulatory surgical centers, long-term care facilities, psychiatric residential treatment facilities, community mental health centers, home health agencies, and rural health clinics. The three essentials on which the CMS regulations focus on are business resources, human resources, and business continuity.

Cumulatively, the cost of implementing these CMS regulations is expected to be around $373 million in the first year and $25 million in subsequent years. However, once the preparedness systems are in place, the financial burden of the healthcare service providers is expected to decrease dramatically.

The TechTarget reported that those who will not comply with the CMS Final Rule by November 17, 2017, will lose the benefits of Medicare and Medicaid. The state regulators and the accrediting organizations (such as the Joint Commission) already require healthcare institutions to be prepared for emergencies. The new CMS rule however has additional requirements that need to be fulfilled.

Under the new rule, the focus is on continuity of operations rather than recovery of operations. It means that it focuses on systems, resources, and facilities needed to provide patient care in an uninterrupted manner. It will include availability of emergency lighting, using alternative energy sources to maintain temperature conducive to health and safety of patients, systems to detect and extinguish fires, and safety and sanitary storage of provisions.

The hospitals will also need a system to locate its patients and staff in case of an emergency, evacuate them safely or provide safe shelter to those who remain in the institution, and ensure that there are provisions of sewage and waste disposal. Stay tuned for more news and updates!