The first quarterly data refresh on CMS Hospice Compare (www.medicare.gov/hospicecompare/) has been released, reporting data for 2016 (2016 Q1 to 2016 Q4). The data refresh had been scheduled for November 21, 2017 but had been delayed. The Hospice Compare website was released on August 18, 2017. Hospices report quality of patient care to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), as part of its Hospice Quality Reporting Program (HQRP).
Quality measures reported include:
Quality of patient care
1. Patient Preferences: 2 measures
- Patients or caregivers who were asked about treatment preferences like hospitalization and resuscitation at the beginning of hospice care
- Patients or caregivers who were asked about their beliefs and values at the beginning of hospice care
2: Managing pain and treating symptoms – 5 measures
- Patients who were checked for pain at the beginning of hospice care
- Patients who got a timely and thorough pain assessment when pain was identified as a problem
- Patients who were checked for shortness of breath at the beginning of hospice care
- Patients who got timely treatment for shortness of breath
- Patients taking opioid pain medication who were offered care for constipation