Working with input from measurement experts and a diverse
group of nursing home industry stakeholders, CMS has adopted and is publishing a
set of publicly reported quality measures on every Medicare-certified nursing
home in the United States. These 15 Minimum Data Set (MDS) quality measures have been extensively tested and studied.
More information on these measures is available at
www.cms.hhs.gov/quality/nhqi.
The consumer language below explains the quality measures in
plain language and accompanies the quality measures found
on Nursing Home Compare at
www.medicare.gov.
Consumer
Language
NHQI
Outcome Measure
Percent of residents whose need for help with daily
activities has increased
ADL Decline
Percent of residents who have moderate to severe pain
Chronic Care Pain*
Percent of high-risk residents who have pressure sores
Pressure Ulcer High-Risk*
Percent of low-risk residents who have pressure sores
Pressure Ulcer Low-Risk*
Percent of residents who were physically restrained
Physical Restraints*
Percent of residents who are more depressed or anxious
Depression
Percent of low-risk residents who lose control of their
bowels or bladder
Incontinence
Percent of residents who have/had a catheter inserted and
left in their bladder
Indwelling Catheter
Percent of residents who spend most of their time in a bed
or chair
Bedfast
Percent of residents whose ability to move about in and
around their room got worse
Locomotion Worsening
Percent of residents with a urinary tract infection
Urinary Tract Infections (UTIs)
Percent
of residents who lose too much weight
Weight
Loss
Percent
of short-stay residents with delirium
Post
Acute Care Delirium
Percent
of short-stay residents who had moderate to severe pain
Post
Acute Care Pain
Percent
of short-stay residents with pressure sores
Post
Acute Care Pressure Ulcers
* Current
focus measures for Arizona
Health
Services Advisory Group (HSAG), the Medicare-contracted Quality
Improvement Organization (QIO) for the state of Arizona, is
actively involved in promoting consumer use of this information.
HSAG is also assisting Arizona nursing homes with
Quality Improvement (QI) activities that will help the
facilities improve their performance on the quality measures.
