Federal Monitoring Survey (FMS) Additional Guidance

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is providing additional guidance relating to the FMS Process:

• The FMS must focus on the State Agency’s (SA) responsibility for survey quality, and it is the SA’s responsibility to ensure that all surveys are conducted by qualified and competent individuals.
• The SA must not replace the survey team or surveyor once the FMS has been scheduled with the SA unless there is an extenuating circumstance communicated to the CMS Location.

• The FMS is to monitor the SA’s performance, and it is not to recommend personnel or disciplinary action(s) based on the FMS.