Home health care agencies are showing some improvements in quality, according to the latest update from Home Health Compare.
Home Health Compare, which is provided by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), enables consumers to compare home health care agencies and view their star ratings, which are based on a national survey from consumers and quality measure scores.
The national average star rating—which ranges from one to five stars—remained at 3.5 stars, though the percentage of agencies with that rating declined from 20% to 19% in the quarterly update, according to industry consultancy firm Fazzi Associates. The percentage of four-star agencies increased to 17% from 16%, and agencies with 4.5 stars declined to 10% from 11%.
Within the quality of patient care measure, agencies improved across 12 measures, including a 1.5% boost in improvement in bed transfer measure, according to Fazzi. The Home Health Compare results were updated on Jan. 24, with the collection period of April 1, 2016 to March 31, 2017.
The measure, acute care hospitalizations, improved for the quarterly update, from 16.4% to 16.2%, according to Fazzi. However, the urgent, unplanned care in the emergency room measure worsened by 0.1%.
CMS is currently removing one measure—the influenza immunization received for current flu season—from the star ratings, effective in the April 2018 update.
Home Health Compare was launched in 2012 and updates its data on a quarterly basis.
Written by Amy Baxter
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