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30 QUALITY IMPROVEMENT & MEASUREMENT CMS penalizes 2,273 hospitals for high readmissions: 6 things to know By Nathan Tucker C MS evaluated two and a half years of readmission cases for Medicare patients through the Hospital Readmissions Reduction Program and penalized 2,273 hospitals that had a greater-than-expected rate of return, according to a Nov. 1 report from Kaiser Health News. e average payment reduction was 0.43 percent, the lowest rate reduction since 2014. Reductions will be applied to each Medicare payment to the affected hospitals from Oct. 1 through next September. It is expected to cost the hospitals $320 million over the 12-month period. e report notes that the COVID-19 pandemic caused turmoil in hospitals and that CMS decided to exclude the first half of 2020 from the report due to the chaos. CMS also excluded Medicare patients who were readmitted with pneumonia across all three years because of the difficulty distinguishing them from COVID-19 patients. Some hospitals will see their penalties greatly reduced from last year. e penalty on Athens, Ga.-based St. Mary's Hospital is dropping from 2.54 percent to 0.06 percent. Lexington, Ky.-based Saint Joseph East received a maximum penalty of 3 percent last year, which was reduced to 0.78 percent from the current analysis. Flemington, N.J.- based Hunterdon Medical Center's rate went from 2.29 percent to 0.12 percent, according to the report. • Forty-three percent of the nation's 5,236 hospitals were penalized. • All but 770 penalized hospitals were automatically exempted. • e 2,193 exempted hospitals specialize in pediatrics, psychiatry, or veterans care. • Rehabilitation, long-term, and critical access hospitals were also excluded from the program. • Maryland hospitals were exempted due to a special payment arrangement with Medicare. • Seventy-five percent of Medicare-assessed hospitals were penalized. "Covid has been a tremendously disruptive force for all aspects of health care, most certainly CMS' quality measurement programs. It's probably going to be a couple of volatile years for readmission penalties," Akin Demehin, senior director of quality and patient safety policy at the American Hospital Association, told Kaiser Health News. n Joint Commission unveils certification for perinatal care By Mariah Taylor T he Joint Commission collaborated with the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists to launch an Advanced Certification in Perinatal Care certification on Oct. 20. The new certification program outlines the latest research, evidence-based practices and guidance to improve quality and safety for pregnant and postpartum patients and newborns, with a focus on high-risk areas for maternal morbidity and mortality. The program begins Jan. 1 but is now available for pre-application, according to a news release shared with Becker's. ACPC replaces The Joint Commisions' current Perinatal Care Certification. n Cleveland Clinic launches global quality improvement program By Mackenzie Bean C leveland Clinic is aiming to improve the quality of care delivered globally through a new program, the health system said Oct. 26. Through the Cleveland Clinic Connected program, clinical and operational experts from the health system will share best practices in quality, safety and patient experience with healthcare organizations across the globe. Physicians from participating organizations will be able to tap any of Cleveland Clinic's 6,000 experts for second opinions on complex cases. Member institutions will also have access to the system's quality improvement and advisory services, along with its education and training programs. n