|
|||||||||||
CMS News
ENHANCED SET OF QUALITY MEASURES NOW AVAILABLE AT MEDICARE'S EASIER-TO-USE NURSING HOME COMPAREThe Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services today unveiled an updated Nursing Home Compare website that includes enhanced quality measures and easier navigation at www.medicare.gov. The enhanced measures are part of CMS' ongoing commitment to use public reporting to improve the quality of care available in the nation's nursing homes. "This website is a perfect example of our ability to empower Americans to improve their health through the use of the information technology," Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy G. Thompson said. "Not only have consumers become better informed, but nursing homes themselves have been taking steps to improve their quality of care. This is a win-win for everyone." The improvements to Nursing Home Compare make it easier for consumers to compare quality, deficiency and staffing information about the nation's 17,000 Medicare and Medicaid-certified nursing homes. The fourteen enhanced quality measures build on the original ten measures and provide additional information to help consumers make informed decisions. "We launched this national Initiative in November 2002 and are already beginning to see improvements in the quality of care available in many nursing homes because of the collaboration among CMS, the states, Quality Improvement Organizations, advocates and the nursing homes," said Dennis G. Smith, Acting CMS Administrator. "Not only are consumers asking more questions, but nursing homes are able to identify their own strengths and weaknesses." The dynamic quality measures continue to be refined with recommendations from the National Quality Forum, a voluntary standard setting, consensus-building organization representing providers, consumers, purchasers and researchers. Working closely with CMS and the nation's nursing homes are the Quality Improvement Organizations, CMS contractors that provide quality improvement assistance to hospitals, physician offices, home health agencies and nursing homes. Since the Initiative began in 2002:
In addition, there have been improvements in outcomes in the following measures:
The Pressure Ulcer measure has not changed significantly over the past 12 months, (from 8.5 percent to 8.8 percent). However, the trend is toward worse performance on this measure in 82 percent of states, so it is a widespread finding. This change may or may not mean that clinical care has deteriorated. CMS and the QIOs are working closely with nursing homes to monitor this, and assure that care does indeed improve. As clinicians focus on a given kind of care (such as skin care) they also become more accurate in measurement. "Not only does collecting this data show where improvements are made, but where there has been a decline in quality, which is an important role for the Nursing Home Quality Initiative," said Smith. "The pressure ulcer measure results are an interesting example of the interaction between measurement and clinical improvement, and we will work with nursing homes to be sure that both improve over time." The enhanced chronic care measures now available at Nursing Home Compare are:
The enhanced post-acute care measures that will be posted are:
The National Nursing Home Quality Initiative is a four-pronged effort, consisting of:
"We are all in this together -- residents, families, agencies, nurses, employees and advocates," said Smith. "By enhancing the quality measures, we can further improve our ability to provide valuable information to consumers, in turn helping them make more informed decisions when choosing nursing home care." More information on the enhanced measures, including a table that provides a comparison between the initial quality measures and the enhanced set of quality measures, can be accessed at the CMS web site, www.cms.hhs.gov. Comparative nursing home information can be found at www.Medicare.gov and clicking on the "Nursing Home Compare" link, or by calling 1-800-MEDICARE (800-633-4227). # # #
|
|||||||||||
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services
|