The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Inspector General (OIG) released two reports on April 3 outlining concerns about facility-initiated discharges in nursing homes. In the first report, OIG found that most facility-initiated discharges involved residents with behavioral issues that put themselves or others at risk and were most often admitted for long-term care. OIG concluded that more research is needed to determine how to effectively provide long-term care for individuals with mental health disorders and behaviors.
The second report investigated nursing homes’ compliance with discharge requirements and found that while most facility-initiated discharges occurred for allowable reasons, nursing homes often failed to fully meet documentation or notification requirements. OIG recommended that CMS provide a standard discharge notice template and require systematic documentation of facility-initiated discharges to assist in oversight activities. Read the reports here and here.
