As mandated by the Affordable Care Act, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has adopted rules for value-based purchasing. Along with how hospitals meet these requirements, CMS will be assessing each hospital’s performance as evaluated by its HCAHPS program. The CMS scoring based on these programs will affect hospital reimbursements for services rendered. The presenters at this session will discuss how hospitals can use the PDC process to improve their scores in these CMS programs. Examples will be used to demonstrate increases in health care quality in new facilities that can be attributed to the physical environment. The discussion will include designs that improve patient safety, create a safe environment for staff, reduce staffing needs, and reduce hospital-acquired infections. This session will enable you to:

● Explain how project planning, design, and construction methods can be used to improve a hospital’s CMS score.
● Discuss design features and construction methods that support creation of a safer hospital.
● Describe the CMS value-based purchasing program and how design and construction projects can affect reimbursement through CMS.
● Apply lessons learned from the examples given to design a more efficient hospital (that is, one that requires fewer FTEs).