A media report early this month that stated CMS plans to remove eight hospital-acquired condition measures from its Hospital Compare database is incorrect, according to a HealthLeaders Media report.
Bloomberg reported that CMS intended to remove eight HACs from the publicly viewable database in July. However, a CMS official told HealthLeaders Media the Bloomberg report was incorrect. CMS will keep the eight HAC measures on Hospital Compare, but some of them will no longer be part of the Inpatient Quality Reporting program, which financially rewards hospitals for reporting certain data, according to HealthLeaders Media.
CMS will remove three different measures — deaths for certain conditions, death after surgery to repair a weakness in the abdominal aorta and deaths after admission for a broken hip — from both the IQR program and Hospital Compare in July, according to the report. The changes to measures on Hospital Compare are based on a report by Measures Application Partnership, which recommends quality measures for inclusion in federal programs, according to the report.
Becker's Hospital Review verified the HealthLeaders Media report with CMS. In an email, Kathryn Ceja of the CMS Office of Communications wrote, "Patient safety measures are extremely important, and CMS is working to streamline its programs so that hospitals can successfully reduce the incidence of HACs and make patients even safer. The eight [Deficit Reduction Act] HACs will continue to be displayed and available in the downloadable database after July 2013."
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Bloomberg reported that CMS intended to remove eight HACs from the publicly viewable database in July. However, a CMS official told HealthLeaders Media the Bloomberg report was incorrect. CMS will keep the eight HAC measures on Hospital Compare, but some of them will no longer be part of the Inpatient Quality Reporting program, which financially rewards hospitals for reporting certain data, according to HealthLeaders Media.
CMS will remove three different measures — deaths for certain conditions, death after surgery to repair a weakness in the abdominal aorta and deaths after admission for a broken hip — from both the IQR program and Hospital Compare in July, according to the report. The changes to measures on Hospital Compare are based on a report by Measures Application Partnership, which recommends quality measures for inclusion in federal programs, according to the report.
Becker's Hospital Review verified the HealthLeaders Media report with CMS. In an email, Kathryn Ceja of the CMS Office of Communications wrote, "Patient safety measures are extremely important, and CMS is working to streamline its programs so that hospitals can successfully reduce the incidence of HACs and make patients even safer. The eight [Deficit Reduction Act] HACs will continue to be displayed and available in the downloadable database after July 2013."
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