What it means
Read it from context. In policy and payment, CMS is the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, a federal agency in the US Department of Health and Human Services. It runs Medicare, the health insurance for people 65 and older and some people with disabilities, and works with each state on Medicaid, the coverage for people with low incomes. Hospitals, nursing homes and home health agencies paid by these programs must meet its rules, called Conditions of Participation, and it does not pay hospitals extra for some conditions a client develops in their care, such as certain pressure injuries and catheter infections. At the bedside, CMS often means a check of circulation, motor function (movement) and sensation (feeling) in a limb, as after a cast, a fracture or orthopedic surgery.
For the nurse
Many facility policies come from CMS rules, such as how restraint orders are written and renewed. A CMS check of a limb compares color, warmth, capillary refill, pulses, movement and feeling with the other side; report changes at once. If the meaning is not clear, ask.
At a glance
| Also written | Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services |
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Related terms
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
The United States government agency that studies disease and sets national guidance on preventing and controlling it.
quality assurance
An organized way of checking that care meets set standards and of fixing problems when it does not.