There has been growing recognition of the importance of home health in the continuum of care, especially among those with chronic, co-morbid illnesses. While there has been a growing movement towards quality measurement in home health care, the voice of the patient has been absent. Current quality measures included on Home Health Compare focus on improvement in getting around, ability to meet activities of daily living, patient remaining at home after an episode of care, and the percentage of patients requiring admission to the hospital or unplanned, urgent care. A measure of the patient experience of care in home health care is needed to fully understand the quality of home health care in America. There are currently NQF-endorsed™ measures on patient experience with care for many different setting of care, including hospitals and ambulatory care. A patient experience of care measure is under consideration for dialysis facilities.
This project will identify and endorse a set of evidence-based performance measures for evaluating the patient experience of care, including patient satisfaction and quality of life surveys.
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has provided funding for this project.
For more information, contact Julie Horner, MHSA, at 202.783.1300 or info@qualityforum.org.