Onsite surveys of nursing homes during the COVID-19 pandemic: March 23–May 30, 2020
- Collection:
- Health Policy and Services Research
- Series Title(s):
- Report in brief (United States. Department of Health and Human Services. Office of Inspector General)
- Contributor(s):
- United States. Department of Health and Human Services. Office of Inspector General. Office of Evaluation and Inspections. issuing body.
- Publication:
- Washington, D.C. : U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General, December 2020
- Language(s):
- English
- Format:
- Text
- Subject(s):
- Communicable Diseases COVID-19 Government Regulation Nursing Homes -- statistics & numerical data United States United States. Department of Health and Human Services
- Genre(s):
- Technical Report
- Abstract:
- Why OIG Did This Review. We did this review to determine the number and results of onsite surveys of nursing homes during the COVID-19 pandemic. Nursing home residents are particularly vulnerable to infectious diseases such as COVID-19, and infection control has been a persistent problem for most nursing homes. As of November 8, 2020, more than 67,000 nursing home residents have died of COVID-19, which represented almost 30 percent of all COVID-19 deaths in the United States at that time. Onsite State surveys, conducted on behalf of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), assess the quality of services in nursing homes, a critical function for protecting residents. CMS changed survey practices in response to the pandemic. These changes— together with nursing home residents’ high-risk status and the importance of the State surveys— warrant close examination to assess the sufficiency of this oversight. How OIG Did This Review. We analyzed CMS administrative data to determine the number of focused infection control and complaint surveys conducted from March 23 through May 30, 2020. We also identified the number and types of deficiencies cited as a result of these surveys. We interviewed officials in CMS and 10 States to learn more about their approaches to oversight, challenges to conducting onsite surveys, and experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic. What OIG Found. Overall, States conducted onsite surveys at 31 percent of nursing homes from March 23 through May 30, 2020; however, States varied significantly. During the same time period in 2019—when States and CMS were under normal operations—53 percent of nursing homes received an onsite survey. The infection control surveys conducted during this timeframe in 2020 resulted in few deficiencies, in part because of their limited scope and less surveyor time onsite. State officials reported ongoing challenges to securing personal protective equipment (PPE) and surveyors. States provided guidance and other support—such as training—to nursing homes outside of the survey process. State officials reported concerns about mounting backlogs of standard and complaint surveys, as the pandemic continues.
- Copyright:
- The National Library of Medicine believes this item to be in the public domain. (More information)
- Extent:
- 1 online resource (1 PDF file (51 pages))
- Illustrations:
- Illustrations
- NLM Unique ID:
- 9918283580106676 (See catalog record)
- Permanent Link:
- http://resource.nlm.nih.gov/9918283580106676