Medicare Quality Data
Quality of Care and Patient Surveys
Percentage of Home Care Agencies that Accept Medicare
It is important to remember that not all home care agencies will accept Medicare. For this reason, the measures are not available for all home care providers.
It is difficult to determine exactly what percentage of home health care agencies accept Medicare because there is no complete nation-wide list of agencies. According to our data, approximately 35% of home care agencies in the U.S. are certified by Medicare. Realize that while Medicare provides a great deal of data about certain agencies, those agencies are also likely to be the type with trained nursing staff and therapists. If that isn't the type of care you or your loved one needs, be sure to examine all home care agencies in your area.
Medicare Quality of Care Process and Outcome Measures
The Quality of Care data has been obtained from Medicare and can be used to review performance of Medicare-certified agencies in your area, to compare agencies with one another and to help you make a more informed decision regarding your home heath care needs.
The Quality of Care includes Process Measures and Outcome Measures. Process Measures can tell you how often a home health care agency gave the recommended care such as checking patients for depression at the beginning of an episode of care. A rate of 90% means that the home care agency provided the recommended process 90% of their episodes of care.
Outcome Measures report on the results of the care the agency provided. For example, by the end of an episode of care, did the patient's ability to move improve? A rate of 88% means that the agency achieved that outcome in 88% of their episodes of care.
Medicare Patient Surveys
The patient survey data is collected by Medicare through the Home Health Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (HHCAHPS) program. The data has been collected from patients, their families, and their friends on a nationwide since the fall of 2009.
Responses are gathered by mail, telephone, or a combination by organizations trained by the Federal government. Each patient is randomly selected from all patients who have had two or more visits from the home health agency in the past 2 months. Agencies are not allowed to pick which patients receive the survey.
The program recognizes that some agencies may serve different types of patients from other agencies. These differences are taken into account when the data is analyzed. Patients that receive hospice care or list "maternity" as their primary reason for receiving home care are not considered. This practice, as well as making sure every patient receives the same survey, ensures that the results compare agencies fairly.
About Patient Responses
| Measure | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Professional Care |
|
| Communicated Well |
|
| Discussed medicines, pain, and home safety |
|
| Gave Their Agency a Rating of 9 or 10 |
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| Would Recommend to Friends/Family |
|
Current Evaluation Periods
The data we show on the site is the latest available quality data provided by Medicare. The surveys are only performed periodically and the site updates as new data become available.
| Measure | Date Range | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| D i d t h e h o m e h e a l t h t e a m d i s c u s s m e d i c i n e s , p a i n , a n d h o m e s a f e t y w i t h p a t i e n t s | J u l y 1 , 2 0 1 5 | to | J u n e 3 0 , 2 0 1 6 |
| F o r p a t i e n t s w i t h d i a b e t e s , h o w o f t e n t h e h o m e h e a l t h t e a m g o t d o c t o r s o r d e r s , g a v e f o o t c a r e , a n d t a u g h t p a t i e n t s a b o u t f o o t | J u l y 1 , 2 0 1 5 | to | J u n e 3 0 , 2 0 1 6 |
| H H C A H P S S u r v e y S u m m a r y S t a r R a t i n g | J u l y 1 , 2 0 1 5 | to | J u n e 3 0 , 2 0 1 6 |
| H o w d o p a t i e n t s r a t e t h e o v e r a l l c a r e f r o m t h e h o m e h e a l t h a g e n c y | J u l y 1 , 2 0 1 5 | to | J u n e 3 0 , 2 0 1 6 |
| H o w o f t e n h o m e h e a l t h p a t i e n t s h a d t o b e a d m i t t e d t o t h e h o s p i t a l | A p r i l 1 , 2 0 1 5 | to | M a r c h 3 1 , 2 0 1 6 |
| H o w o f t e n h o m e h e a l t h p a t i e n t s , w h o h a v e h a d a r e c e n t h o s p i t a l s t a y , h a d t o b e r e - a d m i t t e d t o t h e h o s p i t a l | A p r i l 1 , 2 0 1 3 | to | M a r c h 3 1 , 2 0 1 6 |
| H o w o f t e n h o m e h e a l t h p a t i e n t s , w h o h a v e h a d a r e c e n t h o s p i t a l s t a y , r e c e i v e d c a r e i n t h e h o s p i t a l e m e r g e n c y r o o m w i t h o u t b e i n g | A p r i l 1 , 2 0 1 3 | to | M a r c h 3 1 , 2 0 1 6 |
| H o w o f t e n p a t i e n t s b r e a t h i n g i m p r o v e d | J u l y 1 , 2 0 1 5 | to | J u n e 3 0 , 2 0 1 6 |
| H o w o f t e n p a t i e n t s w o u n d s i m p r o v e d o r h e a l e d a f t e r a n o p e r a t i o n | J u l y 1 , 2 0 1 5 | to | J u n e 3 0 , 2 0 1 6 |
| H o w o f t e n p a t i e n t s g o t b e t t e r a t b a t h i n g | J u l y 1 , 2 0 1 5 | to | J u n e 3 0 , 2 0 1 6 |
| H o w o f t e n p a t i e n t s g o t b e t t e r a t g e t t i n g i n a n d o u t o f b e d | J u l y 1 , 2 0 1 5 | to | J u n e 3 0 , 2 0 1 6 |
| H o w o f t e n p a t i e n t s g o t b e t t e r a t t a k i n g t h e i r d r u g s c o r r e c t l y b y m o u t h | J u l y 1 , 2 0 1 5 | to | J u n e 3 0 , 2 0 1 6 |
| H o w o f t e n p a t i e n t s g o t b e t t e r a t w a l k i n g o r m o v i n g a r o u n d | J u l y 1 , 2 0 1 5 | to | J u n e 3 0 , 2 0 1 6 |
| H o w o f t e n p a t i e n t s h a d l e s s p a i n w h e n m o v i n g a r o u n d | J u l y 1 , 2 0 1 5 | to | J u n e 3 0 , 2 0 1 6 |
| H o w o f t e n p a t i e n t s r e c e i v i n g h o m e h e a l t h c a r e n e e d e d a n y u r g e n t , u n p l a n n e d c a r e i n t h e h o s p i t a l e m e r g e n c y r o o m - w i t h o u t b e i n g | A p r i l 1 , 2 0 1 5 | to | M a r c h 3 1 , 2 0 1 6 |
| H o w o f t e n t h e h o m e h e a l t h t e a m b e g a n t h e i r p a t i e n t s c a r e i n a t i m e l y m a n n e r | J u l y 1 , 2 0 1 5 | to | J u n e 3 0 , 2 0 1 6 |
| H o w o f t e n t h e h o m e h e a l t h t e a m c h e c k e d p a t i e n t s r i s k o f f a l l i n g | J u l y 1 , 2 0 1 5 | to | J u n e 3 0 , 2 0 1 6 |
| H o w o f t e n t h e h o m e h e a l t h t e a m c h e c k e d p a t i e n t s f o r d e p r e s s i o n | J u l y 1 , 2 0 1 5 | to | J u n e 3 0 , 2 0 1 6 |
| H o w o f t e n t h e h o m e h e a l t h t e a m c h e c k e d p a t i e n t s f o r p a i n | J u l y 1 , 2 0 1 5 | to | J u n e 3 0 , 2 0 1 6 |
| H o w o f t e n t h e h o m e h e a l t h t e a m c h e c k e d p a t i e n t s f o r t h e r i s k o f d e v e l o p i n g p r e s s u r e s o r e s ( b e d s o r e s ) | J u l y 1 , 2 0 1 5 | to | J u n e 3 0 , 2 0 1 6 |
| H o w o f t e n t h e h o m e h e a l t h t e a m g a v e c a r e i n a p r o f e s s i o n a l w a y | J u l y 1 , 2 0 1 5 | to | J u n e 3 0 , 2 0 1 6 |
| H o w o f t e n t h e h o m e h e a l t h t e a m i n c l u d e d t r e a t m e n t s t o p r e v e n t p r e s s u r e s o r e s ( b e d s o r e s ) i n t h e p l a n o f c a r e | J u l y 1 , 2 0 1 5 | to | J u n e 3 0 , 2 0 1 6 |
| H o w o f t e n t h e h o m e h e a l t h t e a m m a d e s u r e t h a t t h e i r p a t i e n t s h a v e r e c e i v e d a f l u s h o t f o r t h e c u r r e n t f l u s e a s o n | J u l y 1 , 2 0 1 5 | to | J u n e 3 0 , 2 0 1 6 |
| H o w o f t e n t h e h o m e h e a l t h t e a m m a d e s u r e t h a t t h e i r p a t i e n t s h a v e r e c e i v e d a p n e u m o c o c c a l v a c c i n e ( p n e u m o n i a s h o t ) | J u l y 1 , 2 0 1 5 | to | J u n e 3 0 , 2 0 1 6 |
| H o w o f t e n t h e h o m e h e a l t h t e a m t a u g h t p a t i e n t s ( o r t h e i r f a m i l y c a r e g i v e r s ) a b o u t t h e i r d r u g s | J u l y 1 , 2 0 1 5 | to | J u n e 3 0 , 2 0 1 6 |
| H o w o f t e n t h e h o m e h e a l t h t e a m t o o k d o c t o r - o r d e r e d a c t i o n t o p r e v e n t p r e s s u r e s o r e s ( b e d s o r e s ) | J u l y 1 , 2 0 1 5 | to | J u n e 3 0 , 2 0 1 6 |
| H o w o f t e n t h e h o m e h e a l t h t e a m t r e a t e d h e a r t f a i l u r e ( w e a k e n i n g o f t h e h e a r t ) p a t i e n t s s y m p t o m s | J u l y 1 , 2 0 1 5 | to | J u n e 3 0 , 2 0 1 6 |
| H o w o f t e n t h e h o m e h e a l t h t e a m t r e a t e d t h e i r p a t i e n t s p a i n | J u l y 1 , 2 0 1 5 | to | J u n e 3 0 , 2 0 1 6 |
| H o w w e l l d i d t h e h o m e h e a l t h t e a m c o m m u n i c a t e w i t h p a t i e n t s | J u l y 1 , 2 0 1 5 | to | J u n e 3 0 , 2 0 1 6 |
| S t a r R a t i n g f o r h e a l t h t e a m c o m m u n i c a t e d w e l l w i t h t h e m | J u l y 1 , 2 0 1 5 | to | J u n e 3 0 , 2 0 1 6 |
| S t a r R a t i n g f o r h e a l t h t e a m g a v e c a r e i n a p r o f e s s i o n a l w a y | J u l y 1 , 2 0 1 5 | to | J u n e 3 0 , 2 0 1 6 |
| S t a r R a t i n g f o r h o w p a t i e n t s r a t e d o v e r a l l c a r e f r o m a g e n c y | J u l y 1 , 2 0 1 5 | to | J u n e 3 0 , 2 0 1 6 |
| S t a r R a t i n g t e a m d i s c u s s e d m e d i c i n e s , p a i n , a n d h o m e s a f e t y | J u l y 1 , 2 0 1 5 | to | J u n e 3 0 , 2 0 1 6 |
| W o u l d p a t i e n t s r e c o m m e n d t h e h o m e h e a l t h a g e n c y t o f r i e n d s a n d f a m i l y | J u l y 1 , 2 0 1 5 | to | J u n e 3 0 , 2 0 1 6 |
After seven years of helping her aging parents, Carol Marak has become a dedicated senior care writer. Since 2007, she has been doing the research to find answers to common concerns: housing, aging and health, staying safe and independent, and planning long-term.
- What is Home Care?
- Home Health Care vs. Non-Medical Home Care
- Home Health Care Services
- Non-Medical Home Care Services
- How is Home Care Different from Other Care Options?
- When is Home Care Needed?
- Benefits of Home Care
- Talking to a Loved One
- Selecting a Home Care Agency
- Medicare Quality Data
- Hospice Care
- Home Care Safety
- Considering Home Care Staff
- Home Health Care Costs
- Ways to Pay for Home Care
- Medicare and Home Care
- Medicaid and Home Care
- Does Insurance Cover Home Care
- Using a Reverse Mortgage to Stay Home
