As you may know the existing Quality Measures that are found on the Nursing Home Compare website are scheduled to be taken down April 1, 2011. This is also the date that all comments regarding the proposed, updated Quality Measures are due to NQF (National Quality Forum).
The NQF released a memo requesting comments and suggestions from providers regarding the planned revision of the Quality Measures. Comments, suggestions, etc. are required to be submitted by April 1, 2011. This information is being compiled, analyzed and will be reported to the committee for review. The committee will then review the report and determine if there is any merit to adjusting the newly developed Quality Measures.
Once the analysis is complete the outcomes will be made public and data collection will resume. Right now it appears that the first quarterly data will be made public during the first quarter of of 2012. This data will have been collected during the 3rd quarter of 2011, July 1 – September 30, 2011. The NQF Committee are doing research to determine if it would be possible to report more current data however the validation process takes a tremendous amount of time.
There is still a lot of work and analysis to be done related to the data collected from the MDS 3.0. The forum is currently gathering discharge and entry data to analyze however it will likely take a full year before any trends can be realized or the data being collected can be validated. Once the specifications for the new Quality Measures are implemented, an analysis of the data gathered will be performed to determine whether or not the Quality Measures are performing as expected with regard to the inclusions, exclusions, etc. that were applied.
Bottom line for you the provider? The Quality Measures as we know them will no longer be available. The new Quality Measures will be released sometime in early 2012. The current Quality Measures are due to be removed from the Nursing Home Compare website on April 1, 2011. It may be beneficial to review the Quality Measures for your center before then and discuss them at your Quality Assurance Committee meeting. Any areas that fall below the accepted standards should be thoroughly reviewed and maintained in the Quality Assurance agenda ongoing. Remember, a proactive, cohesive Quality Assurance Committee will assist you during this transition!