Plan Now for New Electronic ADT Notification Requirements
Healthcare Triangle
Aug 27, 2020
New Requirements
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) final Interoperability and Patient Access Rule creates a new Condition of Participation (CoP) that requires hospitals, psychiatric hospitals, and Critical Access Hospitals to share electronic Admission, Discharge, Transfer (ADT) event notifications with other providers and systems so that providers including post-acutes have at their disposal the most up-to-date and accurate information about their patients as it relates to admissions and ED visits. The compliance requirement goes into effect May 1, 2021 and CMS will begin enforcement of the requirements on July 1, 2021.
Plan for Compliance
A complete assessment of the continuum of care in the communities you serve and the available technologies is required for your organization to successfully comply. Here’s what your organization can do now to plan for compliance.
- 1. Ensure your EHR is configured to send ADT event notifications to providers on the patient’s care team who are using the same instance of your EHR. If your EHR has a provider portal such as EpicCare Link or similar functionality, provide ADT event notifications through this tool as well.
- 2. Confirm that your EHR’s Direct messaging functionality and Health Information Service Provider (HISP) configuration are working correctly to send Direct messages to PCPs and other members of the patient care team when there is an ADT event.
- 3. Establish processes to update the Direct addresses stored in your EHR. We recommend quarterly or even monthly updates as well as a process to add direct addresses ad hoc.
- 4. Determine if your Health Information Exchange (HIE) or another third-party application that sends interoperable ADT event notifications is the right choice for you. HIE functionality varies widely, but many including the North Carolina HealthConnex HIE offer solutions that notify providers when their patients receive services in acute and ambulatory care settings. Due to geographic or other considerations, you may find that one of the several available third-party application offers a more comprehensive service that better meets your needs.
For further discussion or immediate healthcare project-related assistance, drop an email to info@healthcaretriangle.com or schedule a consultation.