There are currently 41 Home Health Quality Measures that are included in the HHA OBQI Outcome Reports. As of August 2008, all 41 of these Quality Measures (OBQI Outcomes) are risk adjusted in the HHA OBQI Outcome Reports.

Patient outcome measures are calculated based on a completed episode of care that begins with admission to a home health agency (or a resumption of care following an inpatient facility stay) and ends with discharge or transfer to inpatient facility. This is different than a Home Health Prospective Payment episode of 60 days. A patient outcome is defined as a change (lack of change) in patient condition during an episode of care. There are two types of outcomes--utilization outcomes and end-result outcomes. Except where noted in the following list, higher values are preferable to lower values for these Quality Measures. The risk adjustment methodology, using a predictive model developed specifically for an outcome, compensates for differences in the patient population served by different home health agencies. The seven OBQI outcome measures for which the predictive models did not meet the criteria R2 ¡Ý 0.10 or C-statistic ¡Ý 0.70 are designated with a pound sign (#) to highlight the fact that they have less robust risk adjustment.

Home Health Quality Measures (OBQI Outcomes)

Utilization Outcomes
Discharged to Community
Acute Care Hospitalization (lower values preferred)
Any Emergent Care (lower values preferred)

End-Result Outcomes
Improvement in Grooming
Stabilization in Grooming
Improvement in Upper Body Dressing
Improvement in Lower Body Dressing
Improvement in Bathing
Stabilization in Bathing
Improvement in Toileting
Improvement in Transferring
Stabilization in Transferring
Improvement in Ambulation/Locomotion
Improvement in Eating
Improvement in Light Meal Preparation
Stabilization in Light Meal Preparation
Improvement in Laundry
Stabilization in Laundry
Improvement in Housekeeping
Stabilization in Housekeeping
Improvement in Shopping
Stabilization in Shopping
Improvement in Phone Use
Stabilization in Phone Use
Improvement in Management of Oral Medications
Stabilization in Management of Oral Medications
Improvement in Dyspnea
Improvement in Urinary Tract Infection
Improvement in Urinary Incontinence
Improvement in Bowel Incontinence
Improvement in Pain Interfering with Activity
Improvement in Number of Surgical Wounds
Improvement in Status of Surgical Wounds
Improvement in Speech and Language
Stabilization in Speech and Language
Improvement in Confusion Frequency
Improvement in Cognitive Functioning
Stabilization in Cognitive Functioning
Improvement in Anxiety Level
Stabilization in Anxiety Level
Improvement in Behavior Problem Frequency

Downloads
Overview of Risk Adjustment and Outcome Measures for Home Health Agency OBQI Reports [PDF 313 KB] Comparison of OBQI Outcome Report and HH Compare [PDF 54 KB] Home Health Compare Risk Models 2008 [PDF 625 KB] Home Health Compare Consumer Language 2008 [PDF 17 KB] How To Risk Adjust Compare Method [PDF 13 KB]
Related Links Inside CMS
OASIS Public Utility Files Showing State and National Means
Related Links Outside CMS
The Center for Health Services Research at the University of Colorado

Page Last Modified: 07/31/2008 9:39:11 AM
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