In an ongoing effort to simplify and standardize its Medicare provider comparison sites, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has added star ratings on the patient experience to Home Health Compare.
The new ratings come from HHCAHPS, the home health component of the Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems survey. HHCAHPS star ratings cover patient perceptions on five components: patient care; communication between providers and patients; specific care issues; overall rating of care at the home health agency; and an overall average.
Previously, Home Health Compare users could only compare performance on individual HHCAHPS measures and on nine clinical quality measures. Clinical information on Home Health Compare is based on the CMS Outcome and Assessment Information Set (OASIS).
“Having the HHCAHPS Survey star ratings on Home Health Compare helps patients and their families make more informed healthcare decisions and encourages home health agencies to strive for higher levels of quality and patient experience,” said CMS Deputy Administrator Dr. Patrick Conway said.
According to CMS, about 6,000 of the 11,000 Medicare-certified organizations listed on Home Health Compare have ratings on patient experience; many have not submitted enough data to the HHCAHPS survey to generate an accurate star rating. However, Home Health Compare will be “continually” updated as new information becomes available, CMS promised.
For more, see this CMS fact sheet.
A Deep-dive Into Specialty Pharma
A specialty drug is a class of prescription medications used to treat complex, chronic or rare medical conditions. Although this classification was originally intended to define the treatment of rare, also termed “orphan” diseases, affecting fewer than 200,000 people in the US, more recently, specialty drugs have emerged as the cornerstone of treatment for chronic and complex diseases such as cancer, autoimmune conditions, diabetes, hepatitis C, and HIV/AIDS.
Photo: Etsy user MissTanDesigns
