HMS Is Uniquely Equipped to Support Government Agencies with Surveys

Federal and state agencies rely on Healthcare Management Solutions, LLC (HMS) to ensure that healthcare and long-term-care (LTC) facilities across the United States and its territories are meeting performance standards. HMS supports agencies in meeting those important requirements that ultimately protect vulnerable populations. 

In this video, Pam Mets, Survey Operations Director at HMS, shares valuable insights on how HMS’ survey teams protect vulnerable populations through its wide-reaching inspection operations. As Mets says, “You name it, we survey it.”

What types of surveys does HMS conduct?

The HMS team performs numerous types of inspections for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and state survey agencies across the country at a variety of healthcare facilities, including:

• Ambulatory surgical centers
• Critical access hospitals
• Comprehensive outpatient rehabilitation facilities
• End-stage renal disease (ESRD) facilities
• Federally qualified health centers
• Home health agencies
• Hospice agencies
• Hospitals (EMTALA)
• Intermediate care facilities for individuals with intellectual disabilities
• Long-term-care (LTC) facilities
• Organ procurement organizations
• Outpatient physical therapy facilities
• Psychiatric residential treatment facilities
• Rural health clinics

Oftentimes, HMS identifies immediate jeopardy situations during facility surveys, which can lead to additional substandard quality of care or extended survey issues. CMS also frequently requests that HMS participate in special projects or focus surveys to further investigate any trends or patterns it may have identified in healthcare facilities across the country.

How does HMS support state survey agencies in protecting vulnerable populations?

CMS and state survey agencies turn to HMS and the expertise of its gold standard surveyors to assist with their heavy survey workloads. State survey agencies often work on tight time frames to complete their inspections in order to receive adequate funding from the federal government. To ensure they meet their deadlines, HMS works hard to support their demanding survey operation workloads.

How wide is HMS’ breadth of survey experience?

HMS’ survey division team is as experienced as they come. It is comprised of both surveyors, some of whom individually have nearly 40 years of survey experience, and subject matter experts, who have held leadership positions within state survey agencies and CMS. HMS’ well-rounded, diverse team has conducted surveys at almost every provider type that exists across the U.S. and its territories and even includes interpreters when needed to ensure all facility survey needs are met.

What are some challenges that arise when scheduling surveys?

Sometimes federal or state agencies reach out to HMS with urgent, last-minute needs. For example, a surveyor may fall ill and need someone to fill in for them while they recover (this was especially common during the COVID-19 pandemic). Or, perhaps the agency receives a serious, anonymous complaint about a death or an incident of abuse that needs to be investigated immediately. Sometimes, HMS will receive a timely request when a facility experiences a heightened amount of media attention due to an unforeseen incident. These situations can make scheduling challenging, but our team is equipped to respond quickly to support agencies with these timely needs.

What differentiates the HMS surveyor team?

HMS specifically seeks to employ surveyors who are trained and experienced in all of the various survey types. HMS doesn’t aim to just meet clients’ expectations, we strive to exceed them. We do so by employing top-notch surveyors who are in this line of work for the right reasons. For example, even in the height of the COVID-19 pandemic when many Americans were afraid to leave their homes, HMS surveyors were flying across the country to complete desperately-needed healthcare facility surveys. The HMS survey team is relentlessly committed to protecting vulnerable populations, no matter the circumstances.