This form is intended to guide observations of processes used in healthcare laundry whether it is performed on or offsite. This form is limited to healthcare textiles, examples of which include bed linens, towels, washcloths, patient gowns, and uniforms owned by the facility and used in patient or resident care. It is not intended to evaluate personal laundry, such as long-term care resident clothing. 

This form is intended to guide observations of wound care practices at the healthcare facility. For the purposes of this tool, wound care refers to local care (e.g., debridement, dressing changes) to facilitate healing of breaks in the skin (e.g., ulcers, surgical wounds). While the practices being assessed (e.g., prevention of cross-transmission) apply wherever wound care is performed, the level of detail included in the tool is likely not sufficient to fully assess practices in specialty areas like burn units.

This form is intended to guide observations related to POC blood testing performed and equipment used by the healthcare facility. 

This form is intended to guide observations for preparation and administration of injectable medications (pages 2-9)

and immediate use sterile compounding (page 10).

This form is intended to guide observations of medical device reprocessing performed by the healthcare facility. 

This form is intended to guide EVS observations. In outpatient settings, emphasis should be placed on the process for cleaning and disinfecting non-critical equipment, medication preparation areas, and high-touch surfaces in procedure rooms between patients.

This form is intended to guide TBP facility (pages 2-5) and healthcare personnel (pages 6-11) observations. This form is intended primarily for use in acute care facilities and long-term care facilities.

This form is intended to guide hand hygiene-based facility and healthcare personnel observations.

This form is intended to aid an ICAR facilitator in the review of a healthcare facility’s antibiotic stewardship policies and activities. This interview should be conducted with antibiotic stewardship lead(s) if possible.

This form is intended to aid an ICAR facilitator in the review processes used in healthcare laundry whether it is performed on or offsite. This form is limited to healthcare textiles examples of which include bed linens, towels, washcloths, patient gowns, and uniforms owned by the facility and used in patient or resident care. It is not intended to evaluate personal laundry, such as long-term care resident clothing.

This new Knowledge on Demand platform offers awareness trainings on these five cybersecurity topics: social engineering, ransomware, loss or theft of equipment or data, insider accidental or malicious data loss, and attacks against network connected medical devices.

AHRQ’s SHARE Approach is a five-step process for shared decision making that includes exploring and comparing the benefits, harms, and risks of each option through meaningful dialogue about what matters most to the patient.

This page outlines strategies for overdose prevention, harm reduction, treatment, and recovery.

CLAS is a way to improve the quality of services provided to all individuals, which will ultimately help reduce health disparities and achieve health equity. CLAS is about respect and responsiveness: Respect the whole individual and Respond to the individual’s health needs and preferences.

This publication summarizes AHRQ’s investments in this promising pathway toward better care, including examples of project findings and products, collective outputs, and impacts of this work. 

This Patient Safety Chartbook is part of a family of documents and tools that support the National Healthcare Quality and Disparities Report (NHQDR). The NHQDR is an annual report to Congress mandated in the Healthcare Research and Quality Act of 1999 (P.L. 106-129

Building relationships with external partners that reflect the lived experience of individuals served by your organization can help you understand how best to meet those individuals’ needs and ultimately end disparities. Thoughtful outreach, feedback mechanisms, and engagement are foundational to building long-term, reciprocal relationships with diverse communities

This tip sheet highlights the importance of using equitable communication practices in a policy context. It also includes tips and guiding questions for consideration as well as a list of additional resources.

The National Plan to Address Alzheimer's Disease offers a historic opportunity to address the many challenges facing people with AD/ADRD and their families. Given the great demographic shifts that will occur over the next 30 years, including the doubling of the population of older adults, the success of this effort is of great importance to people with AD/ADRD and their family members, caregivers, public policy makers, and health and social service providers.

For us, CLAS is a way to improve the quality of services provided to all individuals, which will ultimately help reduce health disparities and achieve health equity. CLAS is about respect and responsiveness: Respect the whole individual and Respond to the individual’s health needs and preferences.

The CMS Innovation Center held a virtual listening session as part of our continuing partnership with patients.

The How to Upload an Assessment for MDS Users training video provides steps for uploading MDS assessments to iQIES.

Effective with the July 2023 refresh, CMS revised the nursing-home level exclusion criteria on erroneously high number of administrators applied to the administrator turnover measure.

The CMS Framework for Health Equity provides a strong foundation for our work as a leader and trusted partner dedicated to advancing health equity, expanding coverage, and improving health outcomes. This includes strengthening our infrastructure for assessment, creating synergies across the health care system to drive structural change, and identifying and working together to eliminate barriers to CMS-supported benefits, services, and coverage for individuals and communities who are underserved or disadvantaged and those who support them.

This is an audio series that gives you a closer look at the projects and the people who are improving health care quality and outcomes. These brief conversations include detailed show notes for even more insights into the process behind health care quality improvement – and how you might adapt these to your own organization.

This document contains the answers to frequently asked questions about The Skilled Nursing Facility (SNF) Quality Reporting Program (QRP

This document outlines the program audit process for 2022. CMS will send engagement letters to initiate routine audits beginning February 2022 through July 2022. Engagement letters for ad hoc audits may be sent at any time throughout the year. The program areas for the 2022 audits include: CDAG-Part D Coverage Determinations, Appeals, and Grievances; CPE: Medicare Part C and Part D Compliance Program Effectiveness; FA--Part D Formulary and Benefit Administration; MMP-SARAG--Medicare-Medicaid Plan Service Authorization Requests, Appeals, and Grievances; MMPCC--Medicare-Medicaid Plan Care Coordination; ODAG--Part C Organization Determinations, Appeals, and Grievances; SNP-CC--Special Needs Plans – Care Coordination

This QIF provides resources that may aid LTC providers in recognizing potential medication error deficiency citations and developing a Plan of Correction.

This QIF provides resources that may aid LTC providers in recognizing potential prevention of pressure ulcer deficiency citations and developing a Plan of Correction.

This QIF provides resources that may aid LTC providers in recognizing potential free of accident deficiency citations and developing a Plan of Correction.

The Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Treatment Guidelines is published in an electronic format that can be updated in step with the rapid pace and growing volume of information regarding the treatment of COVID-19. The COVID-19 Treatment Guidelines Panel (the Panel) is committed to updating this document to ensure that health care providers, patients, and policy experts have the most recent information regarding the optimal management of COVID-19 (see the Panel Roster for a list of Panel members). New Guidelines sections and recommendations and updates to existing Guidelines sections are developed by working groups of Panel members. All recommendations included in the Guidelines are endorsed by a majority of Panel members (see the Introduction for additional details on the Guidelines development process). Major revisions to the Guidelines within the past month are as follows:

Everyone who has symptoms that are consistent with COVID-19 and people with known high-risk exposures to SARS-CoV-2 should be tested for SARS-CoV-2 infection. Such testing should employ either a nucleic acid amplification test (NAAT) or an antigen test to detect SARS-CoV-2. Testing may also be used for screening, determining the length of a patient’s isolation period, and other nondiagnostic purposes.

The Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Treatment Guidelines is published in an electronic format that can be updated in step with the rapid pace and growing volume of information regarding the treatment of COVID-19. The COVID-19 Treatment Guidelines Panel (the Panel) is committed to updating this document to ensure that health care providers, patients, and policy experts have the most recent information regarding the optimal management of COVID-19 (see the Panel Roster for a list of Panel members). New Guidelines sections and recommendations and updates to existing Guidelines sections are developed by working groups of Panel members. All recommendations included in the Guidelines are endorsed by a majority of Panel members (see the Introduction for additional details on the Guidelines development process). Major revisions to the Guidelines within the past month are as follows:

Pain can have negative effects leading to prolonged hospital stays. Determining the presence of uncontrolled and untreated pain in patients with cognitive impairments such as delirium, dementia, and delirium superimposed on dementia (DSD) is challenging. One tool commonly suggested for use in assessment of pain in older adults with cognitive impairment is the Pain Assessment In Advanced Dementia (PAINAD) scale. Proper use of the PAINAD scale as part of a comprehensive pain management plan can help reduce the likelihood of a patient experiencing unrecognized and untreated pain. Using an individual example, this article illustrates best practices in pain assessment and management for a woman experiencing DSD during an acute hospitalization.

We discuss preventing, recognizing, and managing this common and dangerous condition.  We are joined by delirium expert and President of the American Delirium Society, Dr. Esther Oh

Even though people all over the world are living longer and healthier lives, our health can change over time because of the different conditions and concerns we may face. Many of us, especially as we reach our mid-70s and beyond, may develop different combinations of diseases, health conditions, and disabilities. Our health needs become more complex as we get older, and what matters most to us may vary also.

It is no longer a secret that dementia presents one of the greatest health and economic challenges of the 21st century. Collaborations among academic, scientific, and advocacy organizations have propelled dementia awareness to
national governments, the G20, the World Health Organization, and even the Academy Awards.1 Yet as our collective awareness grows, we are failing to recognize one of the disease's most consequential symptoms—agitation—
and its costs.

Recommendations made by the USPSTF are independent of the U.S. government. They should not be construed as an official position of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality or the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

ASPR TRACIE General Hurricane Resources & ASPR TRACIE Topic Collections

At least one study showed that over half of hospital patients age 65 and older received at least one

psychotropic medication during a hospital stay. So it is important to start psychotropic stewardship
before a resident sets foot in the long-term care facility.

The American Geriatrics Society (AGS) Beers Criteria® (AGS Beers Criteria®) for Potentially Inappropriate Medication (PIM) Use in Older Adults is widely used by clinicians, educators, researchers, healthcare administrators, and regulators. Since 2011, the AGS has been the steward of the criteria and has produced updates on a regular cycle. The AGS Beers Criteria® is an explicit list of PIMs that are typically best avoided by older adults in most circumstances or under specific situations, such as in certain diseases or conditions.

The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), on behalf of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), has established the National Action Alliance to Advance Patient Safety as a public-private collaboration to improve both patient and workforce safety.

The academic curricula for many healthcare practitioners often do not sufficiently cover topics such as medication safety, medication-use systems, and basic medication prescribing, preparation, and administration. In addition, the recent nationwide surge of respiratory viruses coupled with staff resignations has left many healthcare organizations in a hiring frenzy. Newly hired healthcare practitioners strive to do their best, but certain safety practices require specific education and repeated practice.

Practice guidelines provide recommendations applicable to patients with or at risk of developing CVD. The focus is on medical practice in the United States, but guidelines developed in collaboration with other organizations can have a global impact. Although guidelines may be used to inform regulatory or payer decisions, they are intended to improve patients’ quality of care and align with patients’ interests. Guidelines are intended to define practices meeting the needs of patients in most, but not all, circumstances and should not replace clinical judgment.