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Navigating the New CMS Attestation Requirements: On Demand Webinar Offer

Written by Sentact Team | Aug 5, 2025 12:30:00 PM

What are the new CMS attestation requirements? And how do you go about navigating them? This was the topic of an on-demand webinar featuring a panel of medical directors, legal experts, and hospital leaders from our partners at Hardenbergh Group.

In this article, we’ll explore the new CMS rules and why now is the time to learn from the experts at Hardenbergh, who provide a practical roadmap to compliance.

In Review: Why CMS’s New Patient Safety Measure Is a Big Deal

First, some background.

Hospitals across the country are facing a pivotal moment in healthcare regulation and patient safety. With the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) adding seven new measures to the Hospital Inpatient Quality Reporting (IQR) Program, providers must act swiftly to prepare for a new level of operational scrutiny and clinical accountability.

Chief among these updates is the Patient Safety Structural Measure (PSSM), which took effect in January 2025. This isn’t just a policy change, it’s a systemic shift toward measurable, proactive patient safety.

The Hospital Inpatient Prospective Payment System Final Rule

The Hospital Inpatient Prospective Payment System Final Rule includes seven new quality measures, with the PSSM at the center of it. This attestation-based measure asks hospitals to confirm they are implementing 25 best practices across five key domains:

  1. Leadership commitment to eliminating preventable harm
  2. Strategic planning and organizational policy
  3. Culture of safety and learning health system
  4. Accountability and transparency
  5. Patient and family engagement

These are not vague checkboxes. Each domain contains specific attestation statements that the hospital’s governing board must sign. Failure to comply won’t just affect internal quality metrics—it will be public and may result in financial penalties starting in 2027.

As Dr. Brock Bordelon states in the webinar,

“CMS is not just requesting compliance—they’re requiring proof of a hospital-wide, documented commitment to safety as a strategic priority.”

What Experts Say: Key Webinar Insights About CMS Attestation Requirements

In the Hardenbergh webinar, “Navigating the New CMS Attestation Requirements,” a panel of medical directors, legal experts, and hospital leaders provides a practical roadmap to compliance.

Some key takeaways include:

  • Start Now: Data collection begins in 2025, but culture and infrastructure changes take time. “This is not just a reporting requirement—it’s a culture transformation,” said Dr. Mark Smith, Senior Consultant with the Hardenbergh Group.
  • Leadership Matters: Attestations must be signed by your governing board, not just executive teams. Ensuring your board is informed and aligned is crucial.
  • Documentation is Everything: As Maggie Palmer, MHA, CPCS, CPMSM of Parkland Health emphasized, “If it’s not documented, it didn’t happen.” Ensure meeting minutes, safety reviews, and education initiatives are recorded clearly.
  • Think Beyond the Hospital: While the current rule applies to inpatient settings, Ambulatory Surgery Centers and other care settings will likely be included in future rulemaking.
  • Just Culture and Transparency: Legal expert Michael Callahan emphasized the importance of Patient Safety Organizations (PSOs) and communication programs like AHRQ’s CANDOR Toolkit for fulfilling Domains 4 and 5.

If your teams aren’t yet involved with your PSO, rounding out your documentation strategy within this protected legal infrastructure could be critical to long-term compliance and reduced liability.

Don’t Fall Behind the CMS Attestation Requirements: Get Expert Help

According to the CMS 2024 National Impact Assessment, patient safety declined significantly during the pandemic and has yet to fully recover. CMS’s goal is to return to pre-pandemic safety levels by 2025 and cut patient harm by 25% by 2030.

Hospitals can’t afford to miss this moment.

That’s why we’re inviting you to watch our exclusive on-demand webinar about the CMS attestation requirements. The webinar features expert perspectives from physicians, hospital executives, and compliance leaders. You’ll walk away with a clearer understanding of the requirements—and a practical roadmap for action.

And if you previously missed our eBook on how digital rounding solutions help support compliance, you’ll find it below as well. In it, you’ll learn why investing in digital rounding is more than a tech upgrade—it’s a strategic shift toward measurable, sustainable patient safety.

For hospitals that want to not only comply but also lead, digital rounding technology offers the infrastructure and insight to meet these rigorous new standards.

So while most hospitals already work toward patient safety—documenting, tracking, and proving those efforts to CMS requires infrastructure that many lack. This is where digital rounding platforms come in to provide:

  • Automated workflows and escalation for immediate issue resolution
  • Customizable rounding templates for audits like CAUTI, CLABSI, and hand hygiene
  • Real-time dashboards and analytics to monitor compliance and safety KPIs
  • Closed-loop documentation to track actions from identification to resolution

Whether it’s documenting that 20% of board meetings include safety discussions or confirming that executives are notified of serious safety events within three business days, digital rounding enables hospitals to prove they’re following CMS mandates—not just assume they are.

In essence, it’s a system-wide engine that powers Domains 1 through 5 in real-time—not retroactively after something goes wrong.

Avoid Financial Penalties; Meet the CMS Attestation Deadline with Confidence

The new CMS Patient Safety Structural Measure is not a bureaucratic hurdle—it’s a call to action. Hospitals that embrace this opportunity will not only avoid penalties—they’ll foster a culture of excellence that patients, regulators, and staff can trust.

📺 Watch the Webinar On-Demand Now

 

🎯 In case you missed it, download the ebook to learn how digital rounding supports CMS compliance.

Let’s get your hospital ready.

>> Schedule a 15-Minute Consultation with a Patient Safety Expert <<

Approved for CME Credit

This webinar is approved for CME credit. For CME credit, use this link to Register Here for free, on-demand access to the webinar recording.

After viewing the recording, the quiz and questionnaire must be completed in order to receive CME credit. Click here to access the quiz and questionnaire.

This activity has been planned and implemented in accordance with the accreditation requirements and policies of the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) through the joint providership of CME Consultants and Hardenbergh Group. CME Consultants is accredited by the ACCME to provide continuing medical education for physicians.

CME Consultants designates this enduring material activity for a maximum of 1.25 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.

Release Date: February 10, 2025; Termination Date: February 9, 2027