You can get your "Advanced Copy" of "Revisions to Home Health Agencies (HHA) – Appendix B of the State Operations Manual" here. CMS posted it Friday.
Basically, it describes itself as shifting the focus of surveyors to use "an approach that is patient-focused and outcome-oriented, making it effective and efficient in assessing, monitoring, and evaluating the quality of care delivered by an HHA."
The State Operations Manual, also known as IOM 100-07, contains specific instructions for various Medicare-certified healthcare venues to guide surveyors in how to conduct surveys as well as providers in how to prepare for and comply with those surveys. It's the source of "Interpretive Guidelines" that agencies use to inform policies and procedures and to help agency leaders and surveyors alike understand the intent of the Conditions of Participation published by statute.
I have more study to do before I have the big picture solidly in mind. But at first scan, it resembles the hospice survey updates from last year. It doesn't change the Conditions of Participation themselves, but it does change instructions given to surveyors. For example, it states that surveyors from Accrediting Organizations must use the same form (Form CMS-2567) that state surveyors use to report agency deficiencies and prompt the plan of correction from agencies.
The changes to Appendix B, which you'll recognize as in red italics, self-describe the "purpose of the survey protocols and interpretive guidelines (IGs) [as] to provide a standardized methodology for conducting the survey." As SOM 100-07 is basically the manual for surveyors, my hope is that surveys will differ less between states and between accrediting organizations than what many of us in the industry have seen over time.
Let me know if I can help you adapt your processes to match CMS' new focus on patient care quality.
Happy reading!
Beth