The IMPACT Act of 2014: Standardizing patient assessment data to support care coordination, quality outcomes, and interoperability

The Improving Medicare Post-Acute Care Transformation Act of 2014 (IMPACT Act) addressed the need for uniform, clinical, and demographic data in post-acute care (PAC) settings. Structured, uniform data enables potential interoperable data exchange, quality comparisons across PAC provider types, and the capacity to explore a Medicare unified PAC payment system. Standardized patient assessment data elements were developed for clinical domains such as cognitive function and mental status, special services, treatments, and interventions, and medical conditions and comorbidities to create a common language that can be used to bolster a patient's needs and goals to improve clinical outcomes. Clinical care, decision making, and care planning were at the center of all decisions made to standardize specific data elements. In addition, all standardized data were mapped to nationally accepted vocabulary standards to support electronic health information exchange. The standardized patient assessment data elements present the foundation for uniform language across the PAC continuum to promote a greater quality of care for every patient.