Yesterday, CMS began posting the first elements from the Quality Reporting Program. There are five elements that contain data, compared to the national average.
- Percent of residents developing new or worsening pressure injuries
- Percent of residents experiencing one or more falls with major injury
- Percent of residents who had a functional assessment on admission and the outcomes incorporated on the careplan and assessed at discharge
- Medicare spending per beneficiary
- Percent of successful return to home or community
A sixth measure regarding avoidable, 30 day hospital readmission was not reported as CMS is still trying to determine how to best present the data.
The above data is available for each SNF on Nursing Home Compare. To view, go to the website, choose a facility and then delve into the “Quality of Resident Care” tab. At the bottom of the screen, expand the sections on short-stay and long-stay to view all Quality Measures including this latest set.
As in most cases, data is only as valuable as it is meaningful and communicates a story. In this case, I would caution that these new measures still bear a touch of skepticism for current interpretation.
- The data in most cases, is more than nine months to a year old (observations between 2016 and 2017).
- The context of some of the measures may be incongruous to others more recently reported. For example, there is a long-stay QM on falls with a major injury where the data set/accumulation period is 7/1/17 to 6/30/18. The comparable new QRP data point on falls is illustrative of data between 1/1/17 and 12/31/17. My point is that no data for any measurement, including the new QRP measures, should be viewed separately without a common review of all QM data current (or at least as current as is available).
- The famed quote of former British Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli (appropriated by Mark Twain and others) harkens: “There are three types of lies; lies, damn lies, and statistics”. There are 15,000 plus SNFs and as I have experienced, clear uniformity in data reporting exists in form as much as spotted Zebras. And, I am not calling any SNF a liar. Claims-based measures are a touch more reliable but remember; inaccurate claims and upcoding per CMS OIG is rampant in the industry. Garbage in, garage out?
So a question I have already been asked dozens of times today: Is this data meaningful, useful and if so, how so? Being a true Trinitarian: Yes, No and Maybe. Here’s how I see the QRP impact now.
- It will have virtually no impact or should I say, absolutely no impact, for consumers. It is simply too arcane to digest without a better context for consumers.
- The data is old so now, its reliability on a face-value basis is questionable (kindly stated). Much changes in the SNF environment, good and bad. Changes in leadership, ownership, MDS Coordinators can “funk-up” data results quickly.
- As I indicated, it must be viewed in complete context against all other QMs.
- Those facilities that are good, consistent performers will exhibit the same outcomes with their QRP results.
- Facilities that are poor performers will have their poor results magnified or validated via the QRP data.
- There will be a small set of facilities for which the QRP data is not relevant at all. They are the facilities that have undergone some sort of cataclysmic change since the data measurement started in 2016, likely in 2017. This could represent a good or negative trend.
Finally, if there is some use it will be in the form of strategy within narrow networks, ACOs, etc. The Medicare spend per beneficiary number, if it is below 1, could be of value. Again, one needs caution as that result is more than one year old. What I do know from the Managed Care/Med Advantage folks is that this data set will have ZERO implications for them. As I have written before, these plans are buyers in a universe of sellers. There are too many beds available, even among good providers, in most markets. Frankly, SNF supply exceeds demand by a TON. A Med Advantage plan has no need to pay-up for access nor be horribly concerned that a bed will not be available, even at the best 5 Star providers. Until supply ratchets down to meet actual demand, it will be a Buyer’s market for Med Advantage plans with no need to negotiate/pay more for access.