The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) issued draft guidance for state survey agencies on the shared use of spaces, services or personnel by different hospitals or a hospital and other healthcare entity, according to an article on the Healthcare Dive website.
The guidance aims to ensure such space-sharing arrangements comply with Medicare's conditions of participation while providing flexibility so that organizations can benefit from the efficiencies co-location provides, the article said.
The American Hospital Association urged CMS to clarify its co-location policy as part of a strategy to support rural hospitals.
"We are closely reviewing today's draft guidance from CMS on co-location policies for how hospitals can share space, services and staff with other providers," Nancy Foster, AHA's vice president of quality and patient safety policy, told Healthcare Dive.
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