Nursing Home Compare
Information on the quality of care provided to residents in every nursing home in the country is now available on Nursing Home Compare at www.medicare.gov.
The data, which is updated quarterly, includes nineteen specific measures from nearly 17,000 Medicare and Medicaid certified nursing homes in the United States. Available consumer information includes the prevalence of pressure sores, the use of physical restraints, and improving pain management.
QIES Technical Support - MDS Downloads/Documentation
New Nursing Home 5-Star Quality Rating System
The Nursing Home Compare website now features a rating system that assigns each nursing home a rating of between 1 and 5 stars. Nursing homes with 5 stars are considered to have above-average quality, compared to other nursing homes in the state. Those nursing homes with 1 star have quality much below the average in the state.
The rating system is based on health inspection surveys, staffing information, and quality of care measures. Rankings are dynamic and updated on the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ (CMS’) Nursing Home Compare website monthly.
Because quality and conditions within a nursing home can change at any time, this system is not intended to be the only tool that families use in selecting a nursing home. Families should also consult with their physician, talk to the state’s nursing home ombudsman or Texas’ state survey and certification office and, most importantly, visit the nursing home.
Under the National Patient Safety Initiative, TMF has been paired with select nursing homes that CMS has identified based on past results from CMS initiatives. TMF has been working with those nursing homes in both improving and reporting quality measure data, thereby increasing the quality of care provided to beneficiaries and the transparency of information available to the public.
In our role as the Quality Improvement Organization for Texas, TMF focuses on improving patient safety by reducing rates of pressure ulcers and use of physical restraints and providing quality improvement technical assistance for nursing homes in need. TMF will continue to provide the most cutting-edge, proven methods to those facilities that we work with and help them deliver care that has greater value and quality for patients.
To learn more about how to choose a nursing home and see the most current nursing home ratings, visit www.medicare.gov/NHCompare/Home.asp.