Washington Administrative Code
Title 246 - Health, Department of
HEALTH INFORMATION
Chapter 246-455 - Hospital patient discharge information reporting
Section 246-455-035 - Waiver for reporting the additional patient demographic information
Universal Citation: WA Admin Code 246-455-035
Current through Register Vol. 24-18, September 15, 2024
(1) Beginning October 1, 2022, a hospital that is certified by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services as a critical access hospital, is certified by the Centers of Medicare and Medicaid Services as a sole community hospital, or qualifies as a medicare dependent hospital must comply with this section.
(2)
(a) A
hospital subject to the additional patient demographic information reporting
requirements in
RCW
43.70.052(6)(a) and WAC
246-455-025, and is experiencing
an economic hardship, technological limitations that are not reasonably in the
control of the hospital, or other exceptional circumstance demonstrated by the
hospital, may submit an attestation to the department requesting a waiver of
the additional patient demographic information reporting requirements in
RCW
43.70.052(6)(a) and WAC
246-455-025.
(b) The waiver attestation with supporting
documentation must be submitted on forms provided by the department. The waiver
is deemed granted upon written or electronic approval from the department. The
department may request additional information to complete the attestation. The
department, in its discretion, may deny the waiver request if the hospital
fails to comply with the requirements in
RCW
43.70.052(6) and this
section.
(c) A hospital that has
been granted a waiver shall be exempt from reporting the additional patient
discharge information outlined by WAC
246-455-025 for one calendar
year. The one calendar year starts at the beginning of the next calendar month
after the waiver is approved. The waiver is effective when the department sends
written or electronic approval to the hospital.
(d) A hospital seeking an extension on its
approved waiver must apply for an extension before the waiver expires. If the
hospital does not apply for an extension before the waiver expires, the
hospital must collect and report the additional patient discharge information
in RCW
43.70.052(6)(a) and WAC
246-455-025 and will not be
eligible for an additional waiver.
(e) For economic hardship or technological
limitations that are not reasonably in the control of the hospital, a hospital
may only submit up to a total of three waiver attestations to the
department.
(f) For other
exceptional circumstances, there is no limit on the number of waiver
attestations that a hospital may submit to the department.
(g) The hospital must begin collecting the
additional patient discharge information in
RCW
43.70.052(6)(a) and WAC
246-455-025 immediately following
the waiver expiration.
(h) Data
collected under a waiver must be reported consistent with WAC
246-455-020, and data collected
after the waiver expiration must be reported consistent with both WAC
246-455-020 and
246-455-025. Data must be
submitted according to the deadline for submission required by WAC
246-455-050.
(3) For the purposes of this section:
(a) Economic hardship means:
(i) A hospital with less than 30 days of
operating days in cash as of December 31st based on audited financial
statements;
(ii) A hospital with a
net loss or a negative change in net assets for two consecutive years based on
audited financial statements;
(iii)
A bankruptcy in the previous year or a waiver submitted under this section due
to bankruptcy in the previous year;
(iv) Opening a new hospital after January 1,
2022;
(v) Operating a low-income
hospital, that is defined as a hospital serving a minimum of 30 percent
medicaid patients; or
(vi) Intent
to discontinue operating in Washington prior to January 1, 2023.
(b) Technological limitation that
is not reasonable in the control of the hospital means the integration of
electronic health records system changes, switching electronic health record
system vendors, or updating the hospital's current electronic health record
system to comply with the requirements of this section and is in progress but
has not yet been completed; and
(c)
Other exceptional circumstance means unforeseen circumstances that stress the
hospital in such a way that compliance is not possible. Examples may include,
but are not limited to, natural disasters, widespread health care emergencies,
unforeseen barriers to integration, or unforeseen events that results in a
statewide emergency.
Disclaimer: These regulations may not be the most recent version. Washington may have more current or accurate information. We make no warranties or guarantees about the accuracy, completeness, or adequacy of the information contained on this site or the information linked to on the state site. Please check official sources.
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