When disasters and public health emergencies occur, people often worry if their first responders, hospitals, and trauma centers are trained and equipped to handle the surge in patient care. But what about other providers of health care services? Long-term care facilities, dialysis centers, home health agencies, hospices, pyschiatric treatment facilies, clinics, mental health centers, and ambulatory surgical centers will also be impacted by the disaster. Thousands of these facilities exists throughout the U.S. and community members rely heavily on their services.
In 2016, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) released Emergency Preparedness Requirements for Medicare and Medicaid Participating Providers and Suppliers to ensure these entities adequate plan for both natural and man-made disasters, including how to coordinate with federal, state, tribal, regional and local emergency preparedness systems. Each provider must be in compliance with the new regulations to participate in the Medicare or Medicaid program.
ASPR TRACIE has developed a series of resources to help facilities impacted by the rule understand and comply with the new regulations. These resources are available below. Additional resources to help these facilities plan for, respond to, and recover from a disaster or public health emergency are also included.
- ASPR Technical Resources, Assistance Center, and Information Exchange (TRACIE): ASPR TRACIE is a health care emergency preparedness information gateway that provides stakeholders with access to information and resources to improve preparedness, response, recovery, and mitigation efforts. ASPR TRACIE supports timely access to information and leading practices, identifies and remedies knowledge gaps, and provides technical assistance to a wide range of stakeholders, including federal, state, local, tribal, and territorial governments, nongovernmental organizations, and private sector entities.
CMS Emergency Preparedeness Rule Resources
- Emergency Preparedness Requirements for Medicare and Medicaid Participating Providers and Suppliers: This ASPR TRACIE created product provides links to resources that can help provider and suppliers comply with the recently released Centers for Medicare & Medicaid (CMS) Emergency Preparedness Rule.
- Provider and Supplier Types Covered by the CMS Emergency Preparedness Rule: Seventeen (17) specific provider and supplier types are affected by the newly released CMS Emergency Preparedness Rule. ASPR TRACIE developed the following definitions based on information gleaned from numerous sources to provide a general description of each type. Listed alphabetically, facilities are also categorized based on whether they are inpatient or outpatient, as outpatient providers are not required to provide subsistence needs for staff and patients.
- CMS and Disasters: Resources at Your Fingertips: This document provides information and resources for Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) disaster and emergency related programs.
- ASPR TRACIE Summary of Technical Assistance Requests: ASPR TRACIE provides personalized support and responses to requests for information and technical assistance (TA). We answer a broad range of questions from all stakeholders – at the federal, state, regional, local, tribal, territory, non-profit, and for-profit levels. Responses for these requests are provided in this document, including responses for TA regarding the CMS Emergency Preparedness Rule.
Technical Resources for an All-Hazards Response
- ASPR TRACIE Topic Collections for Other Providers of Healthcare: ASPR TRACIE Topic Collections highlight key resources under specific health and medical preparedness topics. All resources are vetted by members of the ASPR TRACIE Subject Matter Expert Cadre. Collections include the most robust and most useful peer-reviewed and other public and privately developed materials helpful to stakeholders in improving healthcare system preparedness and resilience. Check out the topic collections for Dialysis Centers, Long-term Care Facilities, Homecare and Hospice, and Ambulatory Care and Federally Qualified Health Centers.
- HHS emPOWER Map: The HHS emPOWER Map is an interactive online tool to help health care and emergency management organizations as they plan to meet the emergency needs of community residents who rely on electrically-powered medical and assistive equipment to live independently at home. The integrated data accessible through the HHS emPOWER Map helps health care entities, first responders, electric utility officials, and community organizations to work with health officials to prevent prolonged power outages from negatively affecting the health of vulnerable residents.
- HIPAA and Disasters: What Emergency Professionals Need to Know: When a disaster strikes, there are frequent, rapid requests for information about illness and injury. Learn what patient information can be released, to whom, and under what circumstances before a disaster strikes.
- Hospital Preparedness Program (HPP): HPP is the only source of federal funding for health care system readiness. HPP prepares the health care system to save lives through the development of regional health care coalitions (HCCs). HCCs are groups of health care and response organizations that collaborate to prepare for and respond to medical surge events. HCCs incentivize diverse and often competitive health care organizations to work together. Reach out to the coalition in your area to determine how your health care organization can get involved.
For Pharmacies
- Emergency Prescription Assistance Program (EPAP): EPAP provides an efficient mechanism for over 70,000 enrolled retail pharmacies nationwide to process claims for certain kinds of prescription drugs, specific medical supplies, vaccines and some forms of durable medical equipment for eligible individuals in a Federally-identified disaster area. By planning now, you can get ready to help your patients stay healthy when disaster strikes. Pharmacies have to enroll in EPAP before they can process claims under the system, but enrollment is simple. Learn how your pharmacy can get ready to help EPAP-eligible patients when disaster strikes.
- Pre-Disaster Reminders: Does your pharmacy have a plan for sending refill reminders and text alerts to your customers? Have a plan to alert your customers if you know that a disaster, like a hurricane, is on its way and remind them to pick up their prescriptions a little early. Work with insurers to allow early refills in certain cases.
