Pew’s Comments on Proposed Medicare Discharge Planning Rule

On Jan. 4, 2016, The Pew Charitable Trusts wrote to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services regarding its proposed discharge planning rule.

Pew’s comments support two elements of the proposal that would enhance the coordination of patient care. The first would make advance care plans more accessible across care sites by mandating their inclusion in a patient’s discharge plan. The second would incorporate unique medical device identifiers in discharge documentation, allowing multiple clinicians to access information about any products implanted in patients.