The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services is accepting nominations until Feb. 26 for a technical expert panel (TEP) to provide input and advice to RAND, CMS’ contractor.
The input would regard the selection of data elements to be used to standardize patient assessment across post-acute care settings. The TEP will meet in Baltimore April 7 and 8.
This is part of CMS’ implementation of the Improving Medicare Post-Acute Care Transformation (IMPACT) Act of 2014, which requires CMS to develop, implement and maintain standardized patient assessment data elements for post-acute care settings to facilitate care coordination and improve Medicare beneficiary outcomes.
The TEPs will be composed of individuals with the following perspectives and areas of expertise within the post-acute care domain, such as skilled nursing facilities, home health agencies, inpatient rehabilitation facilities and long term care hospitals:
- Provider and staff
- Consumer/patient/family (caregiver)
- Administrative/Regulatory
- Purchaser
- Research/academic
- Advocate.
Nominees should have expertise in one of the following areas:
- Patient assessment process
- Specific assessment categories, such as medication review and reconciliation; cognitive function and mental status; pain; impairments such as hearing and vision impairment, urinary and bowel incontinence; patient care preferences; or care transitions.
- Health information technology and interoperability
- Workforce, staffing, workload capture
- Quality improvement
- Performance measurement
- Healthcare disparities.
Individuals interested in being nominated should go to the CMS Web site to download and submit the nomination form and TEP Charter for the project.
