“The existing regulations don’t even conceive of electronic communications the way they exist today,” said Dr. Shari Ling, Medicare’s deputy chief medical officer. “Also there have been significant advances in the science and delivery of health care that just weren’t imagined at the time the rules were originally written. For example, the risks of anti-psychotic medications and overuse of antibiotics are now clearly known, when previously they were thought to be harmless.“
The proposed regulations include a section on electronic health records and measures to better ensure that patients or their families are involved in care planning and in the discharge process. The rules also would strengthen infection control, minimize the use of antibiotic and antipsychotic drugs and reduce hospital readmissions.
Revised rules would also promote more individualized care and help make nursing homes feel more like home. For example, facilities would be required to provide “suitable and nourishing alternative meals and snacks for residents who want to eat at non-traditional times or outside of scheduled meal times.”
Residents should also be able to choose their roommates. “Nursing facilities not only provide medical care, but may also serve as a resident’s home,” the proposed rules say. “Our proposed provision would provide for a rooming arrangement that could include a same-sex couple, siblings, other relatives, long term friends or any other combination” as long as nursing home administrators “can reasonably accommodate the arrangement.”