*TS: CMS: Best Practices in Care Planning Compliance (PDF)[REF: SC] The Source, July 2016, Vol 14, #7, Pg 7 JCs1607_B4

Now that CMS is causing TJC to increasingly align its standards with their conditions of participation, psychiatric hospitals are experiencing more citations related to care or treatment planning.  Perhaps with that in mind, the hospital featured in this article implemented a performance improvement (PI) project addressing its care/treatment plans.  The article provides an outline of components for a good care planning process to include:
• An organizational policy for care planning
• The components of a comprehensive patient assessment
• Patient-specific goals
• Interventions that will help reach the desired goals
• Time frames for the patient’s achievement of goals
• Regular reassessment and revision of the plan of care with changes in patient condition
The article also guides the reader through probing questions similar to the ones that might be asked how about a treatment plan by surveyors. The rest of the article provides a few brief compliance suggestions for each of the 6 referenced components. The last two pages include an insert that lists the ‘CMS and Joint Commission Care Planning Requirements’.
Tip 1: Although disappointing in its lack of depth, the topic is so important that the article should not be ignored. Consider it as an annual treatment planning refresher handout for treatment team members.
Tip 2: Make sure staff can reasonably and accurately describe the hospital’s treatment planning process in a manner consistent with relevant policy/procedure.