Understanding the CMS 2025 Structural Measure (PSSM)
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) recently announced significant updates to its Structural Measures for 2025, marking a pivotal shift in how healthcare quality is assessed and reported. For healthcare organizations, understanding these changes is crucial to maintaining compliance and improving patient outcomes. At Clarity Group, we recognize the importance of these updates and how they impact your incident reporting systems.
What Are CMS Structural Measures?
CMS Structural Measures are designed to evaluate the infrastructure and processes that healthcare organizations have in place to deliver high-quality care. These measures focus on the systems and practices that support patient safety, infection control, and overall healthcare quality. The 2025 updates introduce new measures, remove outdated ones, and modify existing metrics to better align with current healthcare practices.
Key Updates for 2025
1. Introduction of the Patient Safety Structural Measure: This new measure assesses how well hospitals implement strategies and practices to enhance patient safety. It emphasizes the importance of a robust safety culture and proactive error prevention.
2. New Healthcare-Associated Infection (HAI) Measures: Two new measures have been added to monitor and reduce infection rates within healthcare facilities. These measures aim to track the incidence of infections and promote best practices to minimize HAIs.
3. Streamlining of Existing Measures: CMS has removed five existing measures to reduce the reporting burden on healthcare providers and focus on more impactful metrics. This change allows organizations to concentrate their efforts on the most critical areas of patient care.
4. Modifications to Current Measures: Two existing measures have been updated to reflect the latest advancements in healthcare and improve data accuracy. These modifications ensure that the measures remain relevant and effective.
5. Policy Changes for Data Validation and eCQMs: CMS has introduced policy changes to enhance data validation processes and increase the number of mandatory electronic clinical quality measures (eCQMs) reported over the next three years. These changes underscore the importance of accurate and reliable data in improving healthcare quality.
How Clarity PSO Can Help
At Clarity Group & Clarity PSO, we know that staying compliant with CMS requirements can be challenging. Our incident reporting system, the Healthcare SafetyZone®, is designed to help healthcare organizations seamlessly integrate these new measures into their reporting processes. With our user-friendly platform, you can easily track and report on patient safety, infection control, and other critical metrics.
- Real-time Reporting: Stay up to date with the latest data and ensure timely reporting to CMS.
- Customizable Dashboards: Tailor your reporting to meet the specific needs of your organization.
- Automated Alerts: Receive notifications for any discrepancies or areas that need attention.
- Comprehensive Analytics: Gain insights into your performance and identify opportunities for improvement.
Why Clarity PSO?
- We're an early pioneer in the federal PSO program
- We set the standard for PSO participation
- We were the first to produce common-format reports for AHRQ
- We are experts in the proper structuring of reported data
- We are experts in translating data into learning
Thinking of joining a PSO? Just curious? Need more information? We're here for you. Contact Us and we'll set up a quick informational chat.
