As of October 7th, hospitals will have 14 weeks to comply with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) requirement of including data elements about influenza patients to their daily COVID-19 reporting.
According to Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Administrator, Seema Verma, hospitals will be receiving a notice of whether they are meeting the reporting requirements and specific data they will need to report moving forward. The requirements will include the number of ICU patients with the flu, which patients in hospitals have both the flu and COVID-19, and the number of deaths from the flu.
“The six new influenza reporting requirements ‘won’t replace the current surveillance system.’ Rather, the new data will give us an improved situational awareness and provide local hospitalization trends, while also giving insight to necessary resources.”
Dr. Robert Redfield, CDC Director
Verma states that hospitals will have “ample opportunity” to come into compliance through multiple enforcement letters and technological support that will occur before a termination is initiated. Hospitals also have the right to appeal termination.
“At the end of the day, this is about patients. All of this reporting ensures that frontline patients and workers have the supplies they need,” said Verma.
The HHS’ efforts to get hospitals to comply has been ongoing. Senior officials say the HHS will start publishing information regarding which hospitals are not compliant and possibly face termination on October 21st.
Information provided by Healthcare IT News.