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CMS launches five-star rating system

PPS Alert for Long-Term Care, February 1, 2009

This is an excerpt from a member only article. To read the article in its entirety, please login or subscribe to PPS Alert for Long-Term Care.

Providers need to communicate true quality to the public

Now that consumers can easily access nursing home quality ratings, long-term care providers say the industry needs to communicate the aspects of nursing home quality that the five-star rating system doesn’t capture.

In December 2008, CMS posted its five-star quality rating system on the Nursing Home Compare Web site. The rating system uses data from surveys, staffing rates, and 10 quality measures to calculate star ratings, ranging from one to five.

When the rating system was unveiled, many long-term care providers said the system oversimplified nursing home quality and didn’t account for customer satisfaction. Regardless of the system’s flaws, long-term care providers will still have to live with the five-star rating system. “I think the centers that got five stars should tell all of their families, their staff, and their residents about their successes,” says Barbara Bruhm, RN, BN, HSM, executive director of consulting services at Landmark Health in Haverhill, MA. “But the buildings that didn’t score well need to tell their story too and explain to families, residents, and staff why they received the rating they did and the actions that they take every day to maintain quality care.”

This is an excerpt from a member only article. To read the article in its entirety, please login or subscribe to PPS Alert for Long-Term Care.

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