Wanted: Post-acute providers to take part in focus groups Dec. 28 to examine post-acute care assessment items.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has contracted with RAND to develop and test standardized post-acute care assessment items that could meet the requirements of the Improving Medicare Post-Acute Care Transformation Act of 2014 (the IMPACT Act) and contribute to care planning, quality measurement, cost estimation or better care transitions. As part of the development process, RAND is convening five focus groups in January – one focus group for each post-acute provider type (skilled nursing facilities, inpatient rehabilitation facilities, home health agencies and long term care hospitals) and one consumer focus group. Each focus group will have approximately 10 participants.

These focus groups will be important for providing stakeholder input as CMS implements the IMPACT Act. The law requires that CMS establish, and post-acute care providers report, standardized assessment data to facilitate care coordination and improve Medicare beneficiary outcomes.

For the post-acute care provider focus groups, RAND is seeking the perspectives of nurses, physicians, medical directors, therapists, social workers, pharmacists and ancillary staff on the assessment process overall and on specific assessment categories. RAND will select participants from among those nominated, aiming to create focus groups whose members bring a range of experience. For the consumer focus group, RAND hopes to identify persons who might participate as a post-acute care consumer, family member or consumer representative.

Nominations of participants are due Dec. 28. Nomination forms are available from NJHA’s Theresa Edelstein.