CMS Announces New Data for Nursing Home Quality Reporting

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced the addition of new data to Nursing Home Compare. The following measures have been added: 

• Percent of residents who develop new or worsened pressure ulcers;
• Percentage of residents whose activities of daily living and thinking skills were assessed and related goals were included in their treatment plan;
• Percentage of residents who experience one or more falls with major injury;
• Medicare spending per resident beneficiary;
• Rate of successful return to home or community. 

In addition, U.S. News and World Report has also changed the methodology by which it determines its the ratings. The new methodology will diverge to some extent from the CMS 5-Star rating system. The changes, which are effective this week, include:

• A new rating for short-stay, post-acute care;
• A new way of calculating the U.S. News Overall rating for all nursing homes. While the Overall rating still would incorporate the three CMS domains of staffing, health inspections and quality measures, greater weight would be given to staffing as reported under the Payroll-Based Journal (PBJ) system.

Favorable ratings in both these systems depend on absolute accuracy and timeliness in the submission of data. Contact Nicole Fallon if you experience problems with the way your data is posted on Nursing Home Compare.

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