June 15, 2014
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a final rule to reform Medicare regulations identified as “unnecessary, obsolete, or excessively burdensome on health care providers and suppliers.” Revisions include eliminating the requirement that a physician must be onsite at a Critical Access Hospital (CAH), Rural Health Clinic (RHC) and a Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) for at least once every two weeks. These facilities will still require a physician to be onsite for a sufficient amount of time, but it will depend on the needs of the facility and the patients. The rule also provides revisions and clarifications for transplant centers, long-term care, clinical laboratories and Ambulatory Surgery Centers (ASCs). Most of the changes will go into effect tomorrow, July 11.
Source: NRHA News
http://blog.ruralhealthweb.org/