By Nina Youngstrom - February 1, 2012

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About five years ago, CMS started down the road toward penalizing hospitals for less-than-optimal patient outcomes with potential DRG cuts for hospital-acquired conditions (HACs). But as CMS implements new quality-related programs, such as value-based purchasing, readmission reductions and HACs for Medicaid, and sharpens its knives under existing programs (e.g., the worst HAC offenders will face bigger MS-DRG losses), hospitals will start to really feel the connection between quality and payment. Perhaps this will prompt a sea change in the way care is delivered, as CMS moves from being a passive payer for volume of services to an active payer for quality and outcomes. Are compliance officers involved in the changes necessary to reduce errors, improve patient satisfaction and avoid loss of reimbursement from lapses in care? What policies and procedures must be embraced to adapt to the new environment? Is this starting to happen? Where will compliance fit in?