Federal Arbitration Regulations-F847 & F848
Arbitration agreements have historically been a topic of confusion in our state that would garner the attention every few years with surveyors and facilities. With...Read More
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Become Familiar with and Prepared for a DOSH Inspection
Washington State Labor and Industries’ Division of Occupational Safety and Health (DOSH) has instituted a Local Emphasis Program (LEP) for enforcement that targets industrial hygiene...Read More
OIG Report - Washington State Failed to Ensure that Nursing Homes Complied with Federal Requirements for Life Safety, Emergency Preparedness, and Infection Control
In the fall of 2022, twenty Washington skilled nursing facilities had unexpected visits from auditors representing the Office of Inspector General (OIG). These surprise visits...Read More
What’s Needed for A Compliance and Ethics Program?
Not so long ago, in November of 2019, Phase 3 of the Requirements of Participation became effective. Part of those requirements expanded the expectations for...Read More
E-Tags and Emergency Preparedness
In September 2016, CMS published the Emergency Preparedness final rule which established consistent emergency preparedness requirements for health care providers participating in Medicare and Medicaid. These requirements then went into effect in November of 2017.Read More
Room and Roommate Changes - What You Need to Know
October 2023 | As many of you know, a major focus on the regulatory changes contained within the Requirements of Participation (ROP) involve Resident Rights and the facility’s need to ensure each resident remains the locus of control regarding decision-making, their care and services, and discharge planning. An area to highlight is room/roommate changes, this was a Phase 1 requirement.Read More
Pharmacy Services-F758- Free from Unnecessary Psychotropic Medications/PRN Use
In 2017, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) expanded the category of antipsychotic medications to the new category of psychotropic medications. In doing...Read More
Dining and Food Service-Phase 3 Requirements of Participation
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) made changes and clarifications to the food service and dining requirements in the Phase 3 implementation of the...Read More
Trauma Informed Care-Requirements Under F699 for Skilled Nursing Facilities
There is a continuing focus and pressure from regulatory agencies to ensure that facilities provide trauma informed and culturally competent care. The federal requirements outline...Read More
F700 Guidance—Bedrails
The Phase 2 changes and Phase 3 Requirements of Participation (ROP) that took effect in October 2022 for all nursing homes included clarification and regulatory...Read More
Additions & Changes to Quality of Care FTags
Moving into 2023, it is important to note the changes the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) made to the State Operations Manual (SOM)...Read More
Psychosocial Outcome Severity Guide and Citations at F600-Abuse
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released the psychosocial outcome and severity guide (POSG) in conjunction with the Phase 2 ROP (Requirements of...Read More
CMS Requirements of Participation (ROP) Overview of Abuse and Neglect Changes
It is very important to keep in mind our specific Washington State requirements related to mandatory reporting (RCW 74.34), the WACs in Chapter 388-97, and the...Read More