HealthStream offers performance learning management solutions to help develop your healthcare staff into leaders and reduce turnover.
View All ProductsHealthStream works with healthcare organizations to create engaging and high-quality training videos for your staff and management.
View All ProductsImprove care quality and save money by making informed decisions about your healthcare facility and staff with HealthStream's reporting analytics solution.
View All ProductsHealthStream's proven methods for the improvement and overall engagement of your healthcare staff foster a positive workplace and increase retention rates.
View All ProductsThe leadership development program from HealthStream helps mold your high-potential healthcare employees into proven leaders.
View All ProductsFulfill compliance requirements with a variety of programs and courseware designed to address critical regulatory requirements as well as educate staff to recognize and mitigate risks.
View All ProductsBy increasing your healthcare staff's focus on quality and safety with HealthStream, they can help to reduce medical errors and readmission rates.
View All ProductsLearn about what HealthStream's healthcare policy management software and how it can help aid your organization efforts.
View All ProductsHealthStream's education helps address diversity, equity, and inclusion within your organization, as well as promoting health equity in the communities you serve.
View All ProductsDeliver custom or industry designed product training directly to patient and resident care environments to reinforce proper use.
View All ProductsTeach your healthcare staff about the revenue cycle and claim management through targeted training and video tools from HealthStream.
View All ProductsIn all areas of resuscitation, from neonatal to elderly care, clinical deterioration is a risk that can be avoided with the help of HealthStream's training programs.
View All ProductsNurture the skills of your nurses and medical staff to help mold them into effective leaders with development training from HealthStream.
View All ProductsMake sure your clinicians have the support they need to provide competent care with clinical competency training and development from HealthStream.
View All ProductsHealthStream’s learning management system and comprehensive suite of competency management tools empower your healthcare workforce to deliver the best patient care.
View All ProductsThe suite of healthcare onboarding solutions available from HealthStream aids in nurse retention and improved patient outcomes.
View All ProductsGive your healthcare staff the decision support and skills training they need with the online products available from HealthStream.
View All ProductsHealthStream leverages medical professional development in healthcare by providing staff training programs
View All ProductsCreate engaging and impactful learning experiences that meet the unique needs of your acute care staff.
View All ProductsExperience standardized and centralized healthcare provider credentialing, privileging, and enrollment that is smarter and faster than ever before.
View All ProductsAutomated, web-based provider credentialing and enrollment software for growing medical groups.
View All ProductsNCQA-certified CVO verification services for initial and re-credentialing files in an overflow or full-service capacity for healthcare organizations.
View All ProductsSearch, review, and add providers into the Epic provider master file with our Epic app integration, Provider Validate.
View All ProductsFinally, a comprehensive resource to support collecting, storing, and sharing credentialing data with ease.
View All ProductsHealthcare scheduling software designed to optimize staffing requirements & elevate patient care
View All ProductsPrecisely align staffing and needed resources to enable efficient patient flow and high-quality, cost-effective patient care.
View All ProductsHealthStream’s free nurse schedule app, NurseGrid™, is built to help you care for your staff and engage with their specific needs.
View All ProductsMitigate risk and elevate your quality of care. Improving both clinical and business outcomes starts with a smarter, more integrated approach to regulatory training, continuing education and quality management.
Learn MoreAs healthcare providers adapt to the third and final phase of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) Final Rule: Medicare and Medicaid Programs: Reform of Requirements for Long-Term Care Facilities, much attention is being placed on implementation and compliance. As part of that Stage 3 rollout process, a heightened awareness also should be placed on staff competency vs. simply enhancing staff training, says Ellen Kuebrich, Senior Director of Business Development at HealthStream.
“What we've seen with competency is that some overcomplicate it, while others under-complicate it,” says Kuebrich, who has more than 12 years of expertise in advising government regulated medical industries, including the medical device, issue transplant, biologic, pharmaceutical, and long-term care industries. “CMS is defining competency as a measurable pattern of knowledge, skills, abilities, behaviors, and other characteristics that an individual needs to perform work roles or occupational functions successfully.”
To untangle all that, she says, pay attention to a couple of key elements:
The concept of employee competency is nothing new in the long-term care arena. So why is the new rule creating a potential for headaches? It could be because often competency and training are seen interchangeably, explains Patrick Campbell, RN, BSN, a master trainer and surveyor, and Senior National Account Services Director with HealthStream.
“Competency is verifying that [staff] actually have training and that they're ready to go,” says Campbell, who spent more than six years as a state surveyor in North Carolina, serving as a team leader and as a frequent member of the state's informal dispute resolution committee. “When we look at phase three, this is going to equate to surveyors marking multiple deficiencies for a single incident where you didn't really have that before.”
As an example, he describes a case where a single staff member uses a mechanical lift that's designed for two staff members to transfer a resident. An incident results in an injury, or the potential for one.
“As we investigate, we're going to pull the care plan,” he says. “If they're not following the care plan that says use a two-person lift technique, then you're going to get an F656 for your care plan. If the care plan isn't accurate and didn't say to use two people, then you've got that second deficiency. That is going to lead us into the next section, staff competency. The new F tag is F726. The surveyor is going to talk to the staff and ask where they trained and was there any sort of check-off or return demonstration. They’ll need to see documentation of that. The surveyors are going want the details: not just a signed paper that the staff were in a training, but what were they shown and how did you verify that they were competent? We may have an issue with competency if you can't show that those things were done.”
And from there, further penalties around sufficient staffing and related facility operations can come into play. To avoid the potential of all these, it will be essential for facilities to have established and implemented a QAPI (Quality Assurance and Performance Improvement) plan and facility assessment as outlined in Phase 2, Campbell notes.
“A facility assessment that's going to identify issues like this,” he points out. “Do you have enough staff, enough equipment, and are the staff competent in this case to provide these transfers? If the surveyor finds an issue there and you have not addressed that on the facility assessment, there’s another deficiency. A QAPI program should be identifying issues and providing corrective action as things are found. In this case, you can see that one incident with that one staff member transferring incorrectly could lead to seven different deficiencies.”
To avoid this situation, long-term care facility operators need to ensure that their competency assessments and plans dovetail with training and development processes. This can take some time up-front, but will pay dividends down the road, Campbell says.
The providers and organizations across the continuum of care that will continue to excel are those that treat residents as people worthy of respect, regardless of medical condition or funding source—and regardless of the pressures felt by staff. HealthStream works with the care continuum, to address these challenges, from keeping pace with regulatory requirements like QAPI and other issues related to Conditions of Participation (CoPs) to engaging and developing competent staff who can satisfy the demands of increased patient complexity. Learn about HealthStream’s Workforce Development Solutions for the Continuum of Care.
HealthStream’s learning management system and comprehensive suite of competency management tools empower your healthcare workforce to deliver the best patient care.
View All Learning & PerformanceHealthStream offers performance learning management solutions to help develop your healthcare staff into leaders and reduce turnover.
View All ProductsHealthStream works with healthcare organizations to create engaging and high-quality training videos for your staff and management.
View All ProductsImprove care quality and save money by making informed decisions about your healthcare facility and staff with HealthStream's reporting analytics solution.
View All ProductsHealthStream's proven methods for the improvement and overall engagement of your healthcare staff foster a positive workplace and increase retention rates.
View All ProductsThe leadership development program from HealthStream helps mold your high-potential healthcare employees into proven leaders.
View All ProductsWhen you enact HealthStream's quality compliance solutions, you can do so with the confidence your healthcare organization will meet all standards of care.
View All Quality & ComplianceFulfill compliance requirements with a variety of programs and courseware designed to address critical regulatory requirements as well as educate staff to recognize and mitigate risks.
View All ProductsBy increasing your healthcare staff's focus on quality and safety with HealthStream, they can help to reduce medical errors and readmission rates.
View All ProductsLearn about what HealthStream's healthcare policy management software and how it can help aid your organization efforts.
View All ProductsHealthStream's education helps address diversity, equity, and inclusion within your organization, as well as promoting health equity in the communities you serve.
View All ProductsHealthStream offers professional training and education on how to best optimize your reimbursement process within your healthcare organization.
View All ReimbursementTeach your healthcare staff about the revenue cycle and claim management through targeted training and video tools from HealthStream.
View All ProductsLearn about our advanced resuscitation training solutions. Our solutions are designed to help improve patient outcomes.
View All ResuscitationIn all areas of resuscitation, from neonatal to elderly care, clinical deterioration is a risk that can be avoided with the help of HealthStream's training programs.
View All ProductsNurture the skills of your nurses and medical staff to help mold them into effective leaders with development training from HealthStream.
View All ProductsExpand the decision-making skills and effectiveness of your healthcare workforce with HealthStream's clinical development programs and services.
View All Clinical DevelopmentMake sure your clinicians have the support they need to provide competent care with clinical competency training and development from HealthStream.
View All ProductsHealthStream’s learning management system and comprehensive suite of competency management tools empower your healthcare workforce to deliver the best patient care.
View All ProductsThe suite of healthcare onboarding solutions available from HealthStream aids in nurse retention and improved patient outcomes.
View All ProductsGive your healthcare staff the decision support and skills training they need with the online products available from HealthStream.
View All ProductsHealthStream leverages medical professional development in healthcare by providing staff training programs
View All ProductsLearn more about HealthStream's provider credentialing, privileging, & enrollment solutions for healthcare organizations.
View All CredentialingExperience standardized and centralized healthcare provider credentialing, privileging, and enrollment that is smarter and faster than ever before.
View All ProductsAutomated, web-based provider credentialing and enrollment software for growing medical groups.
View All ProductsNCQA-certified CVO verification services for initial and re-credentialing files in an overflow or full-service capacity for healthcare organizations.
View All ProductsSearch, review, and add providers into the Epic provider master file with our Epic app integration, Provider Validate.
View All ProductsMake sure your healthcare staff can schedule out appointments and work schedules with ease using HealthStream's line of software solutions.
View All SchedulingHealthcare scheduling software designed to optimize staffing requirements & elevate patient care
View All ProductsPrecisely align staffing and needed resources to enable efficient patient flow and high-quality, cost-effective patient care.
View All ProductsHealthStream’s free nurse schedule app, NurseGrid™, is built to help you care for your staff and engage with their specific needs.
View All Products