CMS guidance seeks to clarify hospital co-location policy

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) issued draft guidance for state survey agencies on the shared use of spaces, services or personnel by different hospitals or a hospital and other healthcare entity, according to an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"We are closely reviewing today's draft guidance from CMS on co-location policies for how hospitals can share space, services and staff with other providers," Nancy Foster, AHA's vice president of quality and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. 

Read the article.