11/11/2003
Milford, NH – Last week, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) released their Home Health Compare quality report. The web-based report, available at www.medicare.gov/HHCompare/home.asp, captures information about changes in patient mobility and other individual characteristics in relation to the Medicare-certified home health agency providing services. It was developed by CMS to offer consumers a way to choose home care agencies, and encourage home care agencies to examine and improve quality performance scores. A similar quality report was developed and released earlier this year by CMS to help consumers compare nursing home quality.
Souhegan Home & Hospice Care has worked closely with federal quality regulators on the data collection process and supports the goals of the quality initiative. The agency is also using the data internally to develop and improve its own quality performance. “Nevertheless, this report shouldn’t be looked at as the be all and end all as far as comparing one agency to another is concerned,” cautions Liane L. Schubring, RN, BSN, MBA/MHA, CHCE, Executive Director of the agency. Indeed, when selecting a home care agency, she urges healthcare consumers to consider additional factors such as patient satisfaction survey results, agency responsiveness to patient needs, ease and timeliness of physician communications, sensitivity of agency staff, accreditation, and the extent of agency experiences with your/your loved one’s specific needs.
“The bottom line is that patients have a choice when it comes to home care agencies,” Schubring adds, “and any information that helps in that decision is in the best interest of not only them, but their families as well.” That’s because according to the GAO, over 80% of all home care services are provided by family caregivers. “The quality report is one more tool that may help families learn more about home health agency services; however, it does not replace the dialogue families should have with their physicians about local experiences with agencies,” says Susan Young, executive director of the Home Care Association of New Hampshire.
For more information on the Home Health Compare initiative visit CMS’s website at www.cms.hhs.gov/quality/hhqi or call Souhegan Home & Hospice Care at 603-673-3460.
