Changes to emergency preparedness requirements are now in effect, and several of those changes apply to both home health and hospice.
A final rule designed to reduce burden took effect Nov. 29, 2019, and includes the following changes to emergency preparedness requirements:
- Removed a requirement to document efforts to contact local, tribal, regional, state and federal emergency preparedness officials as well as the requirement to document participation in collaborative and cooperative planning efforts.
- Changed the requirement to review emergency programs from annually to every two years.
- Changed the training requirement from annually to every two years after conducting initial training for the emergency program. Additional training is also required when the emergency plan is significantly updated.
- Updated the emergency preparedness testing requirements.
Related link: View the final rule online at https://bit.ly/2Fmoa2Z.