CMS has updated the Nursing Home Compare Five-Star Quality Ratings to incorporate new measures that it says will provide more information for patients and family members. Five of six new measures will be used in the Five-Star Quality Rating calculations.
The new measures address discharges, emergency visits, and re-hospitalizations.
Nursing homes receive four different star ratings on the Nursing Home Compare website (each ranging from 1 to 5 stars): one for each of the components — health inspections, staffing, and quality measures — and one for an overall rating, which is calculated by combining each of the three component star ratings. Five of the six new quality measures will be incorporated into the calculations for the Five-Star Quality Rating.
The following are the five new measures that will be used:
- Percentage of short-stay residents who were successfully discharged to the community (Medicare claims- and Minimum Data Set (MDS)-based).
- Percentage of short-stay residents who have had an outpatient ED visit (Medicare claims- and MDS-based).
- Percentage of short-stay residents who were rehospitalized after a nursing home admission (Medicare claims- and MDS-based).
- Percentage of short-stay residents who made improvements in function (MDS-based).
- Percentage of long-stay residents whose ability to move independently worsened (MDS-based).
CMS is not including the sixth new quality measure regarding anti-anxiety/hypnotic medication measure until it identifies relevant nursing home benchmarks.
