The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is committed to publicly reporting on the quality of care provided to Medicare beneficiaries by home health agencies (HHAs). HQSI is working with all of the Medicare-certified HHAs in the state to improve the quality of care in one or more of the 41 Outcome and Assessment Information Set (OASIS) data. In November 2003, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) released access to 11 publicly reported quality measures. This effort provides information to Medicare beneficiaries, their families and others involved in their care, which can be used for selecting an HHA. Consumer information about home health agencies is available on www.medicare.gov/hhcompare or by calling toll-free anytime, 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227).
HQSI continues to provide Outcome Based Quality Improvement (OBQI) training and support, as needed, and continues to provide HHAs with technical assistance, plan of action development, and monitoring and implementation of quality improvement processes.