List of Quality Measures

Process of Care Measures

Process of Care measures show how often home health agencies gave recommended care or treatments that research shows get the best results for most patients. The Process Measures include:

Measure	As listed on Home Health Compare
Timely initiation of care	How often the home health team began their patients’ care in a timely manner.
Influenza immunization received for current flu season	How often the home health team determined whether patients received a flu shot for the current flu season.
Pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine ever received	How often the home health team determined whether their patients received a pneumococcal vaccine (pneumonia shot).
Heart failure symptoms during short-term episodes	How often the home health team treated heart failure (weakening of the heart) patients’ symptoms.
Diabetic foot care and patient education implemented during short-term episodes of care	For patients with diabetes, how often the home health team got doctor’s orders, gave foot care, and taught patients about foot care.
Pain assessment conducted	How often the home health team checked patients for pain.
Pain interventions implemented during short-term episodes	How often the home health team treated their patients’ pain.
Depression assessment conducted	How often the home health team checked patients for depression.
Drug education on all medications provided to patient/caregiver during short-term episodes	How often the home health team taught patients (or their family caregivers) about their drugs.
Multifactor fall risk assessment conducted for patients 65 and over	How often the home health team checked patients’ risk of falling.
Pressure ulcer risk conducted	How often the home health team checked patients for the risk of developing pressure sores (bed sores).
Pressure ulcer prevention included in the plan of care	How often the home health team included treatments to prevent pressure sores (bed sores) in the plan of care.
Pressure ulcer prevention implemented during short term episodes of care	How often the home health team took doctor-ordered action to prevent pressure sores (bed sores).

Exceptions to Recommended Care or Treatments

Giving recommended care or treatments may not always be the best for everyone. There may be specific reasons a patient does not require or should not receive certain care or treatments. These patients would not be included in the calculations of certain measures.

View the quality measures and explanations for consumers.

Outcome of Care Measures

Outcome of Care Measures show the results of care given by the home health agency. There are three types of Outcome Measures reported on Home Health Compare:

• Improvement measures
• Health care utilization measures
• Potentially avoidable event measures

Improvement measures fall into two categories: those describing a patient’s ability to get around, and those describing a patient’s ability to perform activities of daily living or their general health status. Health care utilization measures describe the percentage of time that a patient accesses other health care resources either while home health care is in progress or after home health care is completed. Potentially avoidable events are serious—though rarely occurring—health related events that should be avoidable if given proper attention during the home health episode of care. The Outcome Measures include:

Measures	As listed on Home Health Compare
Improvement Measures
Improvement in ambulation	How often patients got better at walking or moving around.
Improvement in bed transfer	How often patients got better at getting in and out of bed.
Improvement in pain interfering with activity	How often patients had less pain when moving around.
Improvement in bathing	How often patients got better at bathing.
Improvement in management of oral medications	How often patients got better at taking their drugs correctly by mouth.
Improvement in dyspnea	How often patients’ breathing improved.
Improvement in status of surgical wounds	How often patients’ wounds improved or healed after an operation.

Healthcare utilization measures
Acute care hospitalizations	How often home health patients had to be admitted to the hospital.
Emergency department use without hospitalization	How often patients receiving home health care needed any urgent, unplanned care in the hospital emergency room – without being admitted to the hospital.

Only patients meeting the specific criteria for a measure are included in the calculation of that measure.

View the quality measures and explanations for consumers.