CMS Adopts Two Tobacco Measures for Psychiatric Hospitals

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) adopted two of the Joint Commission’s tobacco measures, requiring psychiatric hospitals to report on them or risk a 2% cut in annual CMS payments. The measures include:

  • TOB-1: Tobacco Use Screening
  • TOB-2: Tobacco Use Treatment Provided or Offered
  • TOB-3: Tobacco Use Treatment Provided or Offered at Discharge

Inpatient psychiatric hospitals are required to adopt and report on these tobacco performance measures beginning in federal fiscal year 2017. “We’re glad CMS adopted these measures for hospitals serving behavioral health patients,” said Rob Adsit, UW-CTRI outreach director. 

“Research shows these patients are especially vulnerable to tobacco addiction, and smoke half of the cigarettes consumed in the United States.”

CMS did not adopt any of the Joint Commission’s tobacco measures for general hospitals. This means general hospitals, for now, do not have to report on these measures to maintain CMS funding. “We are working with several organizations to get the Joint Commission tobacco-quality-performance measures adopted by CMS for general hospitals,” Adsit said.

UW-CTRI maintains an up-to-date toolkit for hospitals to help hospital staff systematically treat tobacco dependence.