Current through all regulations passed and filed through September 16, 2024
(A) For the purposes of this rule,
(1) "Alert" means an incident that must be
reported to the Ohio department of medicaid (ODM) due to the severity and/or
impact on a member enrolled on the MyCare Ohio waiver or
SRSP or the need for ODM involvement in the
incident investigation. Alerts include, but are not limited to the events
described in paragraph (J) of this rule.
(2) "Incident" means an alleged, suspected or
actual event that is not consistent with the routine care of, and/or service
delivery to, a member. Incidents include, but are not limited to the events
described in paragraph (F) of this rule.
(3) "Provider" means a MyCare Ohio waiver
or SRSP service provider, any other service
provider that is directed to adhere to this rule, and all of their respective
staff who have direct contact with members.
(4)
"Specialized
Recovery Services Program (SRSP)" means Ohio's specialized recovery service
program authorized by Section 1915(i) of the Social Security Act,
42 U.S.C.
1396n(i) (July 1,
2016).
(B) ODM
or its designee shall operate an incident
management system that includes responsibilities for reporting, responding to,
investigating and remediating incidents. This rule sets forth the standards and
procedures for operating that system. It applies to ODM, its designees (which,
unless otherwise stated, for the purposes of this rule includes, but is not
limited to MyCare Ohio plans and their designees), members and providers. ODM
may designate other agencies or entities to perform one or more of the incident
management functions set forth in this rule.
(C) ODM and its designees shall assure the
health and welfare of members enrolled on the MyCare Ohio waiver
or SRSP. ODM, its designees and providers are
responsible for ensuring members are protected from abuse, neglect,
exploitation and other threats to their health, safety and
well-being.
(D) Upon entering into
a medicaid provider agreement, and annually thereafter, all providers,
including all employees who have direct contact with members enrolled on the
MyCare Ohio waiver or SRSP, must acknowledge in
writing they have reviewed this rule and related procedures.
(E) Upon a member's enrollment in the MyCare
Ohio waiver, and at the time of each annual reassessment, ODM or the MyCare
Ohio plan shall provide the member and/or the member's authorized
representative or legal guardian with a waiver handbook that includes
information about how to report abuse, neglect, exploitation and other
incidents. The MyCare Ohio plan shall secure from the member, authorized
representative and/or legal guardian written confirmation of receipt of the
handbook and it shall be maintained in the member's case record.
(F) Incidents include, but are not limited
to, all of the following:
(1) Abuse: the
injury, confinement, control, intimidation or punishment of a member by another
person that has resulted, or could reasonably be expected to result, in
physical harm, pain, fear or mental anguish. Abuse includes, but is not limited
to physical, emotional, verbal and/or sexual abuse, and use of restraint,
seclusion or restrictive intervention that results in, or could reasonably be
expected to result in, physical harm, pain, fear or mental anguish to the
member.
(2) Neglect: when there is
a duty to do so, the failure to provide goods, services and/or treatment
necessary to assure the health and welfare of a member.
(3) Exploitation: the unlawful or improper
act of using a member or a member's resources for monetary or personal benefit,
profit or gain.
(4)
Misappropriation: depriving, defrauding or otherwise obtaining the money, or
real or personal property (including medication) of a member by any means
prohibited by law.
(5) Death of a
member that meets the criteria for a suspicious death
as described in paragraph (J)(2)(a) of this rule.
(6)
Death of a member
that does not meet the criteria for a suspicious death as described in
paragraph (J)(2)(a) of this rule.
(7) Hospitalization or
emergency department visit (including observation) as a result of:
(a) Accident, injury or fall
when someone's action or inaction may have caused or
contributed to the occurence, including but not limited to, inadequate
oversight of medications of misuse of medications;
(b) Injury or illness of an unknown cause or
origin; and
(c) Reoccurrence of an
illness or medical condition within seven calendar days of the member's
discharge from a hospital.
(8) Unauthorized use
of restraint, seclusion and/or restrictive intervention that does not result
in, or cannot reasonably be expected to result in, injury to the
member.
(9) An unexpected crisis in the member's family or
environment that results in an inability to assure the member's health and
welfare in his or her primary place of residence.
(10) Inappropriate
service delivery including, but not limited to:
(a) A provider's violation of the
requirements set forth in rule
5160-58-04 of the Administrative
Code and/or any other Administrative Code rules referenced therein
that results in an inability to assure the member's
health and welfare, or could reasonably be expected to place the member's
health and welfare in jeopardy;
(b) Services provided to the member that are
beyond the provider's scope of practice;
(c) Services delivered to the member without,
or not in accordance with, physician's orders; and
(d) Medication administration errors
involving the member.
(11) Actions on the
part of the member that place the health and welfare of the member or others at
risk including, but not limited to:
(a) The
member cannot be located;
(b)
Activities that involve law enforcement;
(c) Misuse of medications; and
(d) Use of illegal substances.
(G) Incident reporter
responsibilities.
(1) ODM, its designees and
all providers are required to report incidents in accordance with the
procedures set forth in this rule.
(2) Members and/or their authorized
representative or legal guardian should report incidents to the member's MyCare
Ohio care manager or waiver service coordinator or SRSP
recovery manager and the appropriate authorities.
(3) If a person or an entity identified in
paragraph (G)(1) of this rule learns of an incident, the person or entity shall
do all of the following:
(a) Take immediate
action to assure the health and welfare of the member which may include, but is
not limited to, seeking or providing medical attention.
(b) Immediately report any incident(s) set
forth in paragraphs (F)(1) to (F)(5) of this rule to the MyCare Ohio care
manager or waiver service coordinator or SRSP recovery
manager and the appropriate
authorities set forth in paragraph (G)(6)(a) of this
rule.
(c) Report any incidents set
forth in paragraphs (F)(6) to (F)(11) of this rule to the MyCare Ohio care manager or
waiver service coordinator or SRSP recovery
manager within twenty-four hours unless bound by federal, state or local
law or professional licensure or certification requirements to report
sooner.
(4)
Whenever the 1915(i) SRSP recovery manager becomes
aware of any incident set forth in paragraph (F) of this rule, he or she must
immediately report the incident to the MyCare Ohio care manager or in
accordance with processes required by the MyCare Ohio plan.
(5)
At a minimum, all incident reports shall include:
(a) The facts that are relevant to the
incident;
(b) The incident type;
and
(c) The names of, and when
available, the contact information for, all persons involved.
(6) The appropriate authority is dependent upon the
nature of the incident. Examples of appropriate authorities include, but are
not limited to:
(a) The following agencies
that hold investigative and/or protective authority:
(i) Local law enforcement if the incident
involves conduct that constitutes a possible criminal act including but not
limited to, abuse, neglect, exploitation, misappropriation or death of the
member;
(ii) The local coroner's
office;
(iii) The local county
board of developmental disabilities (CBDD);
(iv) The local public children services
agency (PCSA); and
(v) The local
public adult protective services agency.
(b) The following regulatory, oversight
and/or advocacy agencies:
(i) The Ohio long
term care ombudsman;
(ii) The
alcohol, drug addiction and mental health service board;
(iii) The Ohio department of health (ODH), or
other licensure or certification board or accreditation body when the
allegation involves a provider regulated by that entity;
(iv) The Ohio attorney general when the
allegation is suspected to involve medicaid fraud; and
(v) The local probate court when the
allegation is suspected to involve the legal guardian.
(7) The incident reporter must also notify his or her
supervisor if he or she has one.
(H) MyCare Ohio plan responsibilities.
(1) The MyCare Ohio plan shall do all of the
following upon discovery of an incident:
(a)
Ensure that immediate action was taken to protect the health and welfare of the
member and any other members who may be at-risk.
(b) Notify the appropriate agencies that hold
investigative and/or protective authority as set forth in paragraph (G)(6)(a) of this
rule if the incident was one of those set forth in paragraphs (F)(1)
through
(F)(5) of this rule.
(c) Notify the
appropriate additional regulatory, oversight and/or advocacy agencies set forth
in paragraph (G)(6) (b) of this rule.
(d) Notify the member's primary care
provider.
(2) The MyCare
Ohio plan shall complete an incident report in ODM's or its provider oversight
contractor's electronic incident management system within twenty-four hours of
discovery if the incident was one of those set forth in paragraphs (F)(1) to
(F)(5) of this rule.
(3) The MyCare
Ohio plan shall complete an incident report in the MyCare Ohio plan's own
incident management system within twenty-four hours of discovery if the
incident was one of those set forth in
paragraphs
(F)(6) to (F)
(11) of this rule.
(4) The MyCare Ohio plan shall notify ODM or
its provider oversight contractor, as appropriate, within twenty-four hours of
any incident that meets the criteria of an alert as set forth in paragraph (J)
of this rule.
(5) The MyCare Ohio
plan shall notify the member and/or the member's authorized representative or
legal guardian of the incident as long as such notification will not jeopardize
the incident investigation and/or place the health and welfare of the member or
reporter at risk.
(6) The MyCare
Ohio plan shall submit all incident data resulting from reports filed pursuant
to paragraphs (H)(2) and (H)(3) of this rule to ODM or its designee by the
close of business on the last business day of the first week following the end
of the month.
(I)
Incident investigation responsibilities.
(1)
As appropriate, ODM or its provider oversight contractor, or the MyCare Ohio
plan must review all reported incidents within one business day of notification
via ODM's or its designee's electronic incident management system, and shall do
all of the following as part of its review:
(a) Verify that immediate action was taken to
protect the health and welfare of the member and any other members who may be
at-risk. If such action was not taken, the MyCare Ohio
plan or provider oversight contractor must do so immediately.
(b) Verify that the county coroner was
notified in the event of the death of a member when the
person died as a result of criminal or other violent means, by casualty, by
suicide, or in any suspicious or unusual manner, or died suddenly when in
apparent good health, or when the member had a developmental disability
regardless of the circumstances, and in accordance with section
313.12 of the Revised
Code. If such action was not taken, the MyCare
Ohio plan or the provider oversight contractor must do so
immediately.
(c) Verify that the
appropriate authorities have been notified as required by this rule. If such
action was not taken, the MyCare Ohio plan or
provider oversight contractor must do so immediately.
(d) Verify that the incident was reported
within the timeframe required by this rule.
(e) Notify ODM of any incident that meets the
criteria of an alert as set forth in paragraph (J) of this rule.
(f)
Upon
substantiating an incident that involves a MyCare Ohio waiver or 1915(i) SRSP
provider, the investigative entity shall notify the Ohio department of aging
(ODA) or Ohio department of medicaid (ODM) or a designee of either agency that
certified or approved the provider.
(2) As appropriate, the provider oversight
contractor or the MyCare Ohio plan shall initiate an investigation no later
than two business days after having been notified of an incident. At a minimum,
the provider oversight contractor or MyCare Ohio plan shall:
(a) Contact and work cooperatively with
protective agencies and any other entities to whom the incident was reported
and that may be conducting a separate investigation.
(b) Conduct a review of all relevant
documents including, but not limited to, integrated, individualized care plans,
assessments, clinical notes, communication notes, coroner's reports,
documentation available from other authorities, provider documentation, plans
of care, provider billing records, medical reports, police and fire department
reports and emergency response system reports.
(c) Conduct and document interviews with
anyone who may have information relevant to the incident investigation
including, but not limited to, the reporter, members, authorized
representatives and/or legal guardians and providers.
(d) Include the member and the reporter in
the incident investigation process, as long as such involvement is both safe
and appropriate.
(e) When
applicable, make referrals to appropriate licensure or certification boards,
accreditation bodies, and/or other entities based on the information obtained
during the investigation.
(f)
Document all investigative activities.
(g) Document if and why any of the steps set
forth in paragraph (I) of this rule were omitted from the incident
investigation.
(3) If,
at any time the provider oversight
contractor or MyCare Ohio plan discovers an incident
that meets the criteria for a suspicious death as
described in paragraph (J)(2)(a) of this rule, , the provider oversight contractor
or MyCare Ohio plan must notify ODM within
twenty-four hours of the contractor's discovery. If ODM agrees the death is
suspicious in nature , it
shall maintain lead responsibility for the investigation and follow all of the
steps set forth in paragraph (I) of this rule and the ODM-approved death
investigation protocol.
(4)
Incidents set
forth in paragraph (F)(6) of this rule shall be investigated by the MyCare Ohio
plan in accordance with the ODM-approved death investigation
protocol.
(5) Concluding an incident investigation.
(a) As appropriate, the provider oversight
contractor or the MyCare Ohio plan must conclude its incident investigation no
later than forty-five days after the provider oversight contractor's initial
receipt of the incident report. Extension of this deadline is only permissible
upon prior approval by ODM.
(b) At
the conclusion of the investigation, excluding
incidents set forth in paragraph (F)(6) of this rule the provider
oversight contractor or the MyCare Ohio plan shall:
(i) Submit to ODM and the member, authorized
representative and/or legal guardian a written report that:
(a) Summarizes the investigation;
(b) Identifies if the incident was
substantiated and whether it was preventable; and
(c) Includes a prevention plan for the member
that identifies the steps necessary to mitigate the effects of a substantiated
incident, eliminate the causes and contributing factors that resulted in risk
to the health and welfare of the member and any other persons impacted by the
incident and prevent future incidents.
(ii) Notify MyCare Ohio waiver service
providers who are subject to the incident investigation in writing upon
substantiation of an incident. The notification shall specify:
(a) The findings of the investigation that
substantiate the occurrence of the incident;
(b) The Administrative Code rule(s) that
support(s) the finding(s) of the investigation;
(c) What steps the provider must take in
order to mitigate against the causes of and factors contributing to the
incident; and
(d) The timeframe
within which the provider must submit a plan of correction in accordance with
rule 5160-45-06 of the Administrative
Code, not to exceed fifteen calendar days after the notification
date.
(iii) Provide a
written summary of the investigative findings to the reporter of the incident
unless such action could jeopardize the health and welfare of the
member.
(iv) Assure that all such
reports issued pursuant to paragraph (I)(4) of this rule shall comply with all
applicable state and federal confidentiality and information disclosure
laws.
(J) Alerts.
(1) As appropriate, the provider oversight
contractor or the MyCare Ohio plan shall ensure that incidents that rise to the
level of an alert are reported to ODM within twenty-four hours of the
incident's identification and report submission.
(2) The following incidents are cause for an
alert:
(a) A suspicious death
that could not reasonably have been expected, and
in which at least one of the
following circumstances exist:
.
(i)
The circumstances and/or the cause of death are not
related to any known medical condition of the member; or
(ii)
Someone's action
or inaction may have caused or contributed to the member's death, including but
not limited to, inadequate oversight of medications or misuse of
medications.
(b)
Abuse or neglect that required the member's removal from his or her place of
residence.
(c) Hospitalization or
emergency department visit (including observation) as a result of:
(i) Abuse or neglect;
(ii) Accident, injury or fall
when someone's action or inaction may have caused or
contributed to the occurrence, including but not limited to, inadequate
oversight of medications or misues of medications;
(iii) Injury or illness of an unknown cause
or origin; and
(iv) Reoccurrence
within seven calendar days of the member's discharge from a hospital.
(d) Harm to multiple members as a
result of an incident.
(e) Injury
resulting from the authorized or unauthorized use of a restraint, seclusion or
restrictive intervention.
(f)
Incidents involving an employee of the MyCare Ohio plan or provider oversight
contractor.
(g) Misappropriation
that is valued at five hundred dollars or more.
(h) Incidents generated from correspondence
received from the Ohio attorney general, office of the governor, the centers
for medicare and medicaid services (CMS) or the federal office of civil
rights.
(i) Incidents identified by
a public media source.
(K) At its discretion, ODM may request
further review of any incident under investigation, and/or conduct a separate,
independent review or investigation of any incident.
(L) ODM or its designee shall determine when
to close incident investigations, and shall be responsible for ensuring that
all investigations are properly closed.
(M) If, at any time during the discovery or
investigation of an incident, it is determined that an employee of the provider
oversight contractor or the MyCare Ohio plan is or may be responsible for, or
contributed to, the abuse, neglect, exploitation or death of a member, the
provider oversight contractor or MyCare Ohio plan shall immediately notify ODM.
ODM shall assume responsibility for the investigation in accordance with the
procedures set forth in this rule.
(N) ODM may impose sanctions, remediation, or corrective action upon the provider
in accordance with rules
5160-45-06 and
5160-45-09 of the Administrative
Code or rules
173-39-05 to
173-39-08 of the Administrative
Code, as appropriate, based upon the substantiation of an incident, failure to
comply with any of the requirements set forth in this rule, failure to assure
the health and welfare of the member and/or failure to comply with all
applicable federal, state and local laws and regulations.