The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has issued a memo reminding healthcare facilities about the importance of compliance with infection control practices.
The memo was released as the spread of the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) continues. As of February 13, the number of confirmed deaths surpassed 1,350 and confirmed cases exceeded 60,000. There are close to 600 confirmed cases of the coronavirus in more than 25 countries and territories outside mainland China. World Health Organization announced an official name for the disease causing the outbreak: COVID-19.
CMS makes the intent of its memo clear from the beginning, stating, "Every Medicare participating facility in the nation's healthcare system must adhere to standards for infection prevention and control in order to provide safe, high quality care."
CMS goes on to encourage facilities to review the various coronavirus-related materials produced by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) — including these recommendations — and reminds facilities of the guidance CMS issued last year concerning emergency preparedness.
CMS then highlights several requirements and expectations. These include the following:
Complying with basic infection control practices.
Adherence to standard, contact and airborne precautions, including the use of eye protection.
Adherence to CDC recommendations on standard hand hygiene practices, including using alcohol-based hand rub/hand sanitizer as the preferred method of hand hygiene in most clinical situations.
Ensuring appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE) use and availability.
Ensuring PPE measures and protocols are included in emergency plans.
To assist facilities in self-assessment and review of practices, CMS concludes the memo by sharing the following resources: