Outcome-Based Quality Improvement

Home Health Compare Outcomes

The June 2009 outcomes report for all Medicare certified home health care providers in the U.S. is now available and reflects outcomes for home health care patients assessed from January, 2008 through December, 2008. Charts detailing VNANE member performance versus non-member agencies are posted for MA, CT and RI.

NEW! June 2009 outcomes for CT, MA and RI.

The VNAs of New England have a history of excellence in home health care and a commitment to quality of care outcomes. Since April 2003, The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) provide public reporting of home health care outcomes for all Medicare-certified providers. The following measures are currently in use:

• Percentage of patients who get better at walking or moving around
• Percentage of patients who get better at getting in and out of bed
• Percentage of patients whose bladder control improves
• Percentage of patients who have less pain when moving around
• Percentage of patients who get better at bathing
• Percentage of patients who get better at taking their medicines correctly (by mouth)
• Percentage of patients who are short of breath less often
• Percentage of patients who had to be admitted to the hospital
• Percentage of patients who need urgent, unplanned medical care
• Percentage of patients who stay at home after an episode of home health care ends

The following two measures are recent additions to the outcomes reporting. Comparisons of these measures will be presented in future online reports.

• Percentage of patients whose wounds improved or healed after an operation
• Percentage of patients who need unplanned medical care related to a wound that is new, is worse, or has become infected

VNANE members are committed to understanding this data and assess and continuously improve their services to improve their home health care outcomes.