In a May 17 2013 letter, “Revision to State Operations Manual (SOM), Hospital Appendix A – Interpretive Guidelines for 42 CFR 482.43, Discharge Planning,” the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) provides revisions to existing hospital guidelines for discharge planning. While this information provides interpretive guidelines to hospital surveyors, there is an impact on skilled nursing facilities as well. The guidelines for best practices encourage The letter and information on new discharge planning requirements can be found here.