The public comment period for standardized assessment-based data items under the IMPACT Act of 2014 will run until Friday, August 26, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has announced.
The Improving Medicare Post-Acute Care Transformation Act was designed to improve Medicare’s post-acute care services and how they are reported.
CMS is evaluating issues such as how a data element can be used to improve care transitions through providers exchanging data, and how data elements can be used in clinical decision-making.
Another topic of interest is validity. CMS said it wants to consider the data element’s proven or likely reliability. It also is looking at elements’ utility in describing a case mix, and the feasibility of use in post-acute care. The latter includes consideration of how a data element could be standardized and interoperable.
The two-week comment period opened Friday. The contract, with RAND, is called “Development and Maintenance of Post-Acute Care Cross-Setting Standardized Assessment Data.” Comments can be sent to Impactpubliccomment (at) rand (dot) org.
For more, visit the CMS Public Comment page.