Dive Brief:
- Baylor University Medical Center could be tossed out of the Medicare program by CMS if it doesn't remedy deficiencies found in a recent inspection which put patients in immediate jeopardy. The hospital could potentially lose $300 million in annual Medicare revenues.
- CMS inspectors found multiple instances of psychiatric patients walking away from the hospital's emergency department before treatment had concluded, CMS said. The hospital is required to submit a plan of correction to CMS by Oct. 22, and will receive a surprise inspection before the end of the month. If all is not well during inspection, Baylor will be terminated from the Medicare program.
- The plan of correction will include bringing in "escorts" or "sitters" who will stay with patients until they are transferred to other facilities.
Dive Insight:
What would prompt CMS to issue such a serious warning? In this case, the triggering event for the inspection took place on September 8, when a patient who was under emergency detention without a warrant and considered a serious risk was brought to the hospital. The patient had been found on his living room floor by emergency workers after drinking half a bottle of Windex and overdosing on over-the-counter pain medication. Some time after entering the emergency department, the patient had six visitors; all left and the patient went with them before the patient's treatment had been finished. Apparently, the hospital staff member who was supposed to be watching the patient didn't catch on when said patient had left.
According to Baylor execs, the hospital is already taking steps to address its deficiencies in psychiatric care. For example, the organization soon expects to launch a telemedicine service that it will use to evaluate psychiatric patients. The current bottleneck for treating such patients stems from a shortage of psychiatrists, according to Baylor.
But when the telemedicine facility is put in place, patients will be able to be diagnosed remotely using video and monitors. The Baylor system is also building a 72-bed inpatient psychiatric unit, which should help doctors send psych patients to an appropriate destination more promptly, as there are limited inpatient options in the area for such psychiatric care.