Accreditation

CMS Inpatient-Only List: Preparing for Critical Changes in 2018

Accreditation Insider, January 30, 2018

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Each year CMS revises its inpatient-only list of approximately 1,700 procedures. The most notable changes to the list that went into effect January 1, 2018 include the addition of coronary revascularization during an acute myocardial infarction and the removal of total knee arthroplasty. Knee replacements, according to CMS, now may be performed on either an inpatient or an outpatient basis.

These list revisions are vital for hospitals to track and take into account. For example, “removing knee replacement surgery from the inpatient-only list is going to cause major changes for hospitals and physicians who do these procedures,” says Kurt Hopfensperger, MD, JD, vice president of compliance and physician education at Optum Executive Health Resources. Moving forward, they will have to apply utilization review processes more rigorously.

Keeping pace with change

Hospitals that closely follow and interpret the CMS inpatient-only list benefit in several ways. The list follows evidence-based medicine and looks at the average length of stay, as well as typical risks and comorbidities, for each procedure. Thus, correctly placing a patient in inpatient status is a clinically good decision, and it helps organizations stay in compliance with Medicare rules.

Hospitals also protect revenue by making sure every patient undergoing a procedure on the inpatient-only list has a correct status determination, says Hopfensperger. As procedures drop off of the list, hospitals must do the same to avoid potential revenue integrity issues. “You want to make sure you are appropriately compensated for those patients who are high risk or who require a longer stay in the hospital,” he notes.

Continued at Health Leaders Media
 



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