Did you know that many hospitals have special supervision requirements for their outpatient services – including nursing care? Special requirements for “direct” supervision by physicians and other health care providers particularly affect nursing services, observation units, and critical access hospitals (CAHs). ANA has advocated to rescind or improve these requirements, which can affect nurses’ ability to provide IV therapy, chemotherapy, and other nursing care in hospital outpatient and observation units. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) recently issued a final rule maintaining the requirement, with minor changes.

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On December 20, 2011, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released the details for the Independence at Home Demonstration application process. The demonstration project was created under the Affordable Care Act and seeks to increase the scope of in-home primary care services for chronically ill Medicare patients.

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