WOCN Members Contribute to CMS Panels

WOCN Past President Stephanie Yates, MSN, RN, ANP-BC, CWOCN, was selected to represent WOCN on a Technical Expert Panel (TEP) established by CMS. This panel focused on measure development for patients with Movement Disorders and Non-Pressure Ulcers. CMS works with contractors to develop methods for analyzing costs in episode-based cost measures and seeks input during the cost measure development process. In this instance, CMS has contracted with Acumen to develop and maintain episode-based cost measures for their potential use in the cost performance category of the Merit-based Incentive Payment System (MIPS). As part of our measure development process, Acumen convenes Clinician Expert Workgroups (“workgroups”) to provide input on measure specifications for patients with Movement Disorders and Non-Pressure Ulcers.
 
Joyce Pittman, PhD, RN, ANP-BC, FNP-BC, CWOCN, WOCNF, FAAN, was selected to represent nursing on the National Quality Forum TEP panel reviewing candidate Serious Reportable Events. This work will contribute to quality indicators as part of the NQF focus on HARM (Harmonizing Accountability in Reporting and Monitoring). This is a patient safety initiative that aims to reduce preventable harm by modernizing the criteria for what constitutes an SRE and aligning standards for reporting such events across different accountability systems—an essential step to strengthen efforts to pinpoint and address the causes of preventable harm.