Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Maintenance Requirements Self-evaluation

Abstract

On December 2, 2011, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services released its Clarification of Hospital Equipment Maintenance Requirements. This documents sets out Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services requirements in the much discussed arenas of frequency of preventive maintenance and the associated maintenance procedures when preventive maintenance does occur. These requirements are more stringent than those that many have argued for, and they may reflect a shortfall in current practices for some hospitals. Given the now detailed statement of requirements, it is now prudent to undertake a self-assessment of compliance with these requirements. This article offers a simple assessment tool for this purpose.