CMS Launches Home Health Agency Quality Database
CMS on Monday launched a database that will allow U.S. residents to compare the quality of home health agencies from state to state, the AP/Boston Herald reports. The database, which includes information collected between May 2002 and May 2003, compares the quality of Medicare-certified home health agencies in 11 categories, such how often patients took the proper medications or required emergency care. CMS plans to update the database on a quarterly basis (AP/Boston Herald, 11/2). CMS selected the 11 measures from the 41 Outcomes and Assessment Information Set measures collected by home health care agencies. In May, the agency released a preliminary version of the database that compared the quality of home health agencies in Florida, Massachusetts, Missouri, New Mexico, Oregon, South Carolina, West Virginia and Wisconsin (California Healthline, 5/1). CMS last year also launched a similar database to allow U.S. residents to compare the quality of nursing homes from state to state (AP/Boston Herald, 11/2). The home health agency database is available online.
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