Responding to Government Inspections

Government agencies are tasked with the general oversight of healthcare facilities, and that oversight encompasses many scenarios that would necessitate an inspection. For example, healthcare facilities are licensed and regulated by state health departments, but facilities may also be certified by various other state and federal agencies, both public and private. This often results in both separate and overlapping responsibilities, which may be confusing for risk managers to navigate. This general oversight is intended to ensure the following:

* This guidance article largely focuses on general inspections related to compliance with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services' (CMS) conditions of participation (CoPs). For information specifically regarding inspections as part of investigations prompted by incidents of resident harm, see ECRI's white paper Incident Investigation in Aging Services.

The statutory and regulatory provisions authorizing inspections by federal agencies and state and local governments vary. An organization should be familiar with applicable statutes authorizing inspections and with any guidance documents that an agency provides to its inspectors on how to conduct an inspection.

Incident Investigation in Aging Services

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