QUALITY

 
Quality of care provided by the hospice community is captured by numerous measures which are derived from multiple sources:  hospice bill claims, CAHPS, etc.   Some quality measures  are announced to the public, i.e., Hospice Compare.   Other measures, non-publicized, i.e., the PEPPER Report, are at the discretion of each hospice agency to collect, utilize the data, and if appropriate, use that data to improve their operations. 
    

By a hospice reviewing accumulated quality measures, an impartial view is presented whereby the hospice may identify weaknesses, target opportunities, discover what works and what does not in improving the agency’s operations.  Reviewing an agency's quality measures can provide a “built-in" Quality Improvement Performance Assessment (QAPI) opportunity for the hospice and ultimately refresh hospice's delivery of care. 

Below are listed links that hospice providers are encouraged to utilize. There is a wealth of information and opportunities within each report to assist any provider in sharpening their patient care skills and services.

• Palmetto GBA  Non Cancer Length of Stays (NCLOS) as of March 2020.
• CMS PEPPER Report (Program for Evaluating Payment Patterns Electronic Report).
• HOSPICE QUALITY REPORTING PROGRAM

The Hospice Quality Reporting Program (HQRP) currently consists of two reporting requirements: the Hospice Item Set (HIS) and the Hospice Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (CAHPS®) survey. HIS and Hospice CAHPS® data are used to calculate performance on quality measures.

• CMS CAHPS Hospice Survey  (Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers & Systems)
• CMS HIS(Hospice Item Set).
• HIS Technical Information 
• HQRP COVID 19 TIP SHEET (CMS, July 1, 2020) MANDATE

Newly Released Report:  Hospice QRP FY 2021: Successful Facilities (10/01/2020)

Recommendations of the LMHPCO Health Care Disparities and Inequities Taskforce

LMHPCO Project Exploring Hospice Quality by Race