The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has issued a memo suspending non-emergency inspections across the country, allowing inspectors to focus on serious health and safety threats like infectious diseases and abuse. This shift will also enable inspectors to address the spread of COVID-19. Effective immediately, survey activity will be limited to immediate jeopardy complaints, allegations of abuse and neglect, infection control concerns, and other high-priority cases. Healthcare facilities must comply with these new guidelines and ensure that they are prepared to respond to the threat of COVID-19. The CMS will be posting updated FAQs in real-time on their website to address the dynamic nature of the situation. Healthcare facilities must communicate this policy to all survey and certification staff within 30 days of the memorandum.

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