This post has been archived and contains information that may be out of date.
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has released important updates on post-acute care quality reporting programs, including training opportunities, public reporting and reminders about data submission and review deadlines.
Inpatient Rehabilitation Facility/Long-Term Care Hospital Updates
Inpatient rehabilitation facilities and long-term care hospitals may preview performance data on each quality measure based on the second quarter of 2016 through first quarter of 2017. For more information:
Skilled-Nursing Facility Updates
Skilled-Nursing Facility Quality Reporting Program confidential feedback/quality measurement reports are available via the Certification and Survey provider Enhanced Reports Reporting System. The reported measures include assessment-based measures related to pressure ulcers, functional assessments and falls, as well as claims-based measures on readmissions, community discharge and total estimated Medicare spending per beneficiary.
CMS reports it has discovered an error affecting risk-adjustment in some of the Medicare spending per beneficiary measure calculations contained in the skilled-nursing facility October 2017 confidential feedback/quality measurement reports. CMS has corrected the issue, and the data has been loaded into the Quality Improvement and Evaluation System Assessment Submission and Processing system. Providers should request an updated version of the report to review the corrected measure calculation.
More information and related training resources are available on the Skilled-Nursing Facility Quality Reporting Program Training web page.
Home Health Updates
An audio recording and transcript of the Dec. 14, 2017, webinar addressing removal of the influenza vaccination measure from the quality of patient care star rating is now available on the Home Health Quality Reporting Training web page.
Hospice Updates
CMS directs hospices that note inaccurate demographic data in the Hospice Compare preview report to contact their Medicare administrative contractor for assistance. As the data are generated from information stored in the Automated Survey Processing Environment system, providers should request updates to that system rather than referencing the Hospice Compare site. Further information is available online.
CMS has also developed tip sheets for both providers and consumers for the Hospice Compare website.
