The Benchmark Email

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

December 7, 2005

Get Ready for Pay-for-Performance

Question:
It looks like Pay-for-Performance will become a reality. It also looks like the agencies that will gain the most are those whose Home Health Compare quality scores places them in the top 10% of all quality scores. Is there anywhere we can get a listing of what our Home Health Compare scores need to be in order for our agency to be in the top 10% of all agencies?

Answer:
Yes! One of the new services available free to all subscribers to the Fazzi Associates Benchmark Email is our new P4P Home Health Compare Quality Improvement Chart.

We know that many agency leaders recognize that in order to position their agency for Pay-for-Performance, they need to begin focusing now on those Home Health Compare quality scores where their scores are not competitive. Some agency leaders are focusing on getting their scores up to the national averages. Others are not settling for the national averages. They see Pay-for-Performance as an opportunity and are targeting specific measures where their goal is to get their agency's scores into the top 10%.

Fazzi Associates P4P Home Health Compare Quality Improvement Chart is based on the December 2005 Home Health Compare scores. We include four columns: your agency's scores, your state's scores, the national scores and the top 10%.The first two columns are blank. You can get your scores and your state's scores by going to www.medicare.gov and follow the steps to search by your name or location.

Want a full page version of this chart? Simply click here for the PDF version. Once you have it, fill in your agency and state averages and you're ready to analyze and target areas for improvement.

Fazzi Associates will be updating this chart on a quarterly basis, within seven days of the information being released by CMS. Fazzi Associates has also developed a new QualityNOW Quality Improvement Program designed specifically to help agencies improve their Home Health Compare quality scores. What is clear is that Pay-for-Performance will quickly become a reality in the home care field. Now is the ideal time for agencies to focus on improving their Home Health Compare scores and position themselves to take advantage of the new Pay-for-Performance environment.