AARC Joins Others in Issuing Guidance to CMS on HACs

June 24, 2008

AARC has joined forces with some other groups to issue comments to CMS on Ventilator-Associated Pneumonia, among other issues.

CMS (the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services) had issued a proposal that would create a policy for penalizing hospitals for preventable adverse events, in particular Hospital Acquired Conditions (HACs). In the letter, the group noted that VAP was among those HACs that were “not entirely preventable even with preventive measures and clinical practice guidelines.”

The letter recommends to CMS that they require documentation of adherence to evidence-based guidelines, such as the AARC’s, in the management of ventilator patients in order to minimize the occurrence of VAP. But the letter goes on to state that there is no published evidence-based CPG to assure VAP as a “never event.” The Respiratory Care Journal conference on VAP was also noted as a resource.

Furthermore, AARC supported other points outlined in the letter, including comments on Iatrogenic Pneumothorax.

The letter was signed by the AARC, American College of Chest Physicians, National Association of Medical Directors of Respiratory Care, American Thoracic Society, Society of Critical Care Medicine, and the American Association of Critical Care Nurses.