Background

People Are Talking About Your Hospital

Several important measures of “hospital quality” have been released in the last few days.  It is critically important for HIM, coding and CDI managers to be aware of these publications and to understand the role coding and documentation play in the claims-based measures.  Recent releases include:

  • Quality Reports:  Preview reports for Hospital Inpatient Quality Reporting (IQR), Hospital Outpatient Quality Reporting (OQR), and Prospective Payment System (PPS)-Exempt Cancer Hospitals Quality Reporting (PCHQR) were made available on May 4th.  Ask your quality manager for a copy!
  • Hospital Grades:  LeapFrog Hospital Safety Grade – Spring 2020 release on April 30th:  Find your results at www.HospitalSafetyGrade.com.  These results include HACs (hospital acquired conditions) and PSIs (patient safety indicators).
  • Value-Based Purchasing:  Preview reports for the Fiscal Year (FY) 2021 Hospital Value-Based Purchasing (VBP) Program were made for hospitals on April 10th.  Ask your quality manager for a copy!

A review of your hospital-specific reports should focus on selection of a sample of records with a goal of identifying educational opportunities for future improvement. A thorough evaluation of cases should consider measure inclusions, measure exclusions, and risk adjustment methodologies.  It is too late to submit coding corrections in these reports, however, they can provide invaluable feedback to your staff.

ACS consultants understand the intricate details of these measures and would be happy to assist you with evaluation and staff education!