OIG: Pandemic Data Shows Major Changes Needed in Nursing Home Staffing, Surveys, Infection Control

A federal watchdog agency is calling for “significant changes” to nursing home operations and oversight in light of new data on Covid-19 infection rates.

The Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (OIG) calls on the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to take action in a report issued Thursday.

Recommendations made by the HHS Office of the Inspector General (OIG) build on previous probes into the skilled nursing industry and include re-examining and revising nursing staff requirements.

The recommendation acknowledges an initiative already underway with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), namely, a staffing mandate proposal and supporting study due to be published this year.

Part two of this first recommendation – re-evaluating staffing data collection – should better align with staffing requirements outlined in the mandate proposal, OIG added.

“For example, amending staffing data to include a timestamp would better allow CMS to determine whether nursing homes have provided around-the-clock nursing services,” OIG said in its report. “This would assist CMS in monitoring compliance with staffing requirements, as well as ensure quality data for future analyses.”