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News & Events
Report to Congress on Post Acute Care Payment Reform Demonstration (PAC-PRD) Highlights Key Finding for Home Health
A January 2012 report from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) provides a review of key findings and activities of the PAC-PRD during its 3 year period. The four PAC settings examined were Long Term Care Hospitals (LTCHs), Inpatient Rehabilitation Facilities (IRFs), Skilled Nursing Facilities (SNFs), and Home Health Agencies (HHAs). A total of 140 PAC providers participated in the demonstration, including forty-one HHA's.
A key finding for home health includes:"HHA stays are associated with a statistically significant positive impact on improving self-care functional ability from admission to discharge after controlling for patient acuity measures.” (page 31).
The report also describes the development and testing of the Continuity Assessments Record and Evaluation (CARE) instrument - a standardized patient assessment tool developed for use at PAC admission and discharge. Over 39,000 CARE assessments were collected during the demonstration, including 10,381 assessments from HHAs.
To view the full report, click here.
Enhancing Life for Those Living with Chronic Illness
A new report from the Institute of Medicine (IOM) calls attention to the overwhelming toll of chronic diseases in the United States Today, about one in four Americans has multiple diseases (two or more) and these diseases account for 70% of all deaths. The IOM's report, “
Living Well with Chronic Illness: A Call for Public Health Action
,” offers a plan of action to reduce the impact of chronic illness in this county. The report outlines a comprehensive framework of cross-cutting, coordinated strategies to reduce disability and improve the function and quality of life for people living with chronic illness.
Report on Hospital Readmissions Shows Little Progress Over 5 Years
A report released by the Dartmouth Atlas Project shows wide variations in 30-day readmission rates and little progress in reducing readmissions and improving care coordination between 2004 and 2009. To help understand problems with discharge planning and care coordination, the study examined six common causes of hospitalization for Medicare beneficiaries: those admitted for medical conditions, surgical conditions, congestive heart failure, heart attacks, pneumonia, and hip fracture. The authors hope their findings can be used to better understand the opportunities to improve the care of patients after hospital discharge. A link to the full report, After Hospitalization: A Dartmouth Atlas Report on Post- Acute Care for Medicare Beneficiaries, can be found at www.dartmouthatlas.org.
And in case you missed it...
Click here to read our newest Wednesday Wisdom blog, where Debra Bertrand wonders out loud why hospitals aren’t turning to the rehospitalization avoidance experts: home health care agencies.