The New York State Department of Health (DOH) and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) reviewed CMS’s new guidance on what constitutes an immediate jeopardy (IJ) situation in a health care organization at an October 2 meeting at GNYHA.
IJ is defined as a situation in which a recipient of care has suffered or is likely to suffer serious injury, harm, impairment, or death resulting from noncompliance. It is the most severe and egregious threat to the health and safety of patients and carries the most serious sanctions for providers, suppliers, and/or laboratories. State surveyors of all provider types, supplier types, and laboratories will use the revised Appendix Q-Core Guidelines during health, emergency preparedness, and life safety code surveys.
CMS’s Lisa Tripp, JD, reviewed what needs to happen to declare IJ. Ms. Tripp, Technical Director of Enforcement and Certification in the Division of Nursing Homes, also discussed the value of the IJ training resources developed by CMS for health care providers and surveyors. Deirdre Astin, Director, DOH Division of Hospitals and Diagnostic & Treatment Centers, reviewed DOH’s role in hospital surveillance on behalf of CMS and how IJ determinations are made. Ms. Astin also discussed some CMS Conditions of Participation that led to IJ in New York in recent years.
The webinar recording and slides are available here.