The Benchmark Email

...benchmarks, strategies and ideas for improving your agency
A service of Fazzi Associates, Inc.

June 28, 2007

Home Health Compare June 2007
Quality Improvement Chart

Question: Our agency is working toward improving our Home Health Compare results and reaching the top 20% (80th percentile) nationally. Do you have the Home Health Compare results with the national averages and the estimated 80th percentile that were updated today?

Answer: Yes, the updated Quality Chart is now available with the June 28, 2007 national averages as well as the results for the best practice group: the top 20%. The current Home Health Compare database reflects 12 months of data from January 2006 through December 2006. Today’s update reveals that while Acute Care Hospitalization and Emergent Care results have not changed, three of the ten Home Health Compare measures have improved national averages this quarter. The improved measures are: Improvement in Bathing, Improvement in Management of Oral Medications, and Improvement in Dyspnea.

Many agencies are monitoring developments of a P4P system and working toward improved quality outcomes. Demonstrating improvement over time and attaining best practice status could be rewarded in a future P4P model. A study conducted by Fazzi Associates analyzing Home Health Compare results from June 2006 to June 2007 revealed that all seven end result outcomes have had an improved national average in the last year.

Click here or on the image above to get the June 2007 Home Health Compare national averages and results of the top 20%. For a report that includes your state scores, simply go to our Home Health State Association page and click on your state.

If your quality outcome results are not showing consistent improvement and your case mix weight is low, best practice strategies to implement for immediate results include:

• OASIS Audit
• OASIS Training for staff and managers

Additional strategies to consider are:

• Record review model that emphasizes competency
• Performance Improvement projects focused on care behaviors (once you know your data is accurate)
• Culture of embracing quality care and use of data

Because of our work with agencies on improving OASIS accuracy, case mix weight and quality outcomes, we know that it will take many months to completely change a quality score after implementing improvement efforts; however quality outcome results will change over time.