Dale Bratzler, DO, MPH, Medical Director of the Oklahoma Foundation for Medical Quality, spoke on the CMS 9th Scope of Work, which took effect on August 1. CMS will now direct QIOs to focus not only on nursing homes with a high incidence of pressure ulcers, but to take a closer look at hospitals in the same county and hold them accountable as well.
“It gets to the sense that pressure ulcers are a community problem,” said Bratzler. “CMS is actively working on building performance measures that will publicly report hospital pressure ulcer rates, particularly hospital-acquired pressure ulcers. Once they complete that, then I think there is going to be a strong incentive for nursing homes and hospitals to work together to figure out the best ways to prevent pressure ulcers.”
