By Healthcare Facilities Today

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) recently released a Proposed Rule that would establish national emergency preparedness requirements for 17 different types of Medicare- and Medicaid-participating providers and suppliers (including, among others, hospitals, ambulatory surgical centers, hospices, long-term care facilities, home health agencies, critical access hospitals, organ procurement organizations and End Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) facilities), according to an article on the Mondaq website.

The rule would ensure these facilities adequately plan for natural and man-made disasters, and coordinate with federal, state, tribal, regional and local emergency systems. 

These requirements are intended to help providers and suppliers establish a comprehensive regulatory approach to emergency preparedness and response that ensures continuity of care, according to the article. 

The CMS proposed rule would add additional requirements to the Conditions for Coverage for ESRD facilities and relocate the emergency preparedness Conditions for Coverage requirement established in the April 2008 Final Rule "Conditions for Coverage for End-Stage Renal Disease Facilities; Final Rule." Below is an overview of the Proposed Rule's requirements for ESRD facilities, the article said. Comments on the Proposed Rule are due by Feb. 25, 2014.

Read the article.