CMS updates POA and HAC website

On Sept. 4, CMS launched an updated version of its present on admission (POA) and hospital-acquired condition (HAC) website. The updates describe the changes to POA and HAC reporting requirements that were published in the FY2009 Inpatient Prospective Payment System (IPPS) final rule. Access the updated site here.

The FY 2009 IPPS final rule applies to discharges on or after Oct. 1, 2008. The updated site directs visitors to numerous resources that have been indexed in recent months. Additions to the site include:

• A coding section that clarifies the use of the "U" indicator, which is used to state that the documentation was insufficient to determine if the condition was present at the time of inpatient admission. In previous CMS documentation, it was not clear if CMS would pay for a reported condition that used the "U" indicator. On the site, CMS states that it "will not pay the CC/MCC DRG for those selected HACs that are coded as 'U' for the POA indicator." Access the site here.
• Three transmittals (access here) with instructions on how exempt hospitals should complete the POA indicator so their claims will be accepted by the grouper after Oct. 1, 2008.