Harmony Healthcare International Brightens Five-Star Rating with Quick Reference Tool

Topsfield, MA (PRWEB) April 30, 2015

In February 2015, when the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) changed its Five-Star Quality Rating system geared towards helping consumers, families and caregivers compare skilled nursing facilities, Harmony Healthcare International invented and today releases a grid that combines all the rules for calculating a Five-Star Rating in one quick reference tool for SNFs to use in planning and preparing for changes in the facility's rating.

"This reference tool from Harmony Healthcare simplifies the calculation process and shows the facilities their actual points allowing them to strategize and take action if they are close to losing or gaining a point," said Kris Mastrangelo, OTR/L, LNHA, MBA, President and CEO of Harmony Healthcare International.

Harmony Healthcare International, the leader in long term care reimbursement, operations and compliance consulting, as well as training and education programs and talent management, offers training in Quality Measure Management including the Five-Star Analysis. In addition, Harmony Healthcare conducts site visits that delve deeper into the Quality Measures and Mock Surveys that can positively impact survey outcomes.

The elements in the Five-Star Rating become essential tools for SNFs in determining how well they perform particularly in the light of recent healthcare reform initiatives. From the quality perspective, SNFs will be asked to focus on integration and coordination of care. An increased number of payments will also be linked to quality outcomes moving from "volume to value". New cross-setting measures will align across Medicare and Medicaid public reporting and payments systems and standardized assessment and interoperability will be required across post-acute care settings and with other providers. Virtually all Medicare fee-for-service payments will be tied to quality and value; at least 85% in 2016 and 90% in 2018.

"When all is said and done, it is all about improving the quality of care the elder population receives in our nation's nursing homes," said Mastrangelo, "We believe the facility should be well-prepared and understand where they fit in the overall rating structure, ultimately having a positive impact on clients daily lives."

There is one overall Five-Star rating for each nursing home, and a separate rating for each of the following three sources of information:

   •  Health Inspections – The health inspection rating contains information from the last 3 years of onsite inspections, including both standard surveys and any complaint surveys.
   •  Staffing – The staffing rating has information about the number of hours of care provided on average to each resident each day by nursing staff.
   •  Quality Measures (QMs) – The quality measure rating has information on 11 different physical and clinical measures for nursing home residents, including information about nursing homes' use of antipsychotic medications in both long-stay and short-stay residents, a more recent addition to the category.

Harmony Healthcare's simplified calculation of the composite Five-Star Quality Rating uses the following table: http://hhi.hub.am/1OzSGqD. There are five columns. The Health Inspection Rating designates which column to use and which number to initiate the calculation.

The contribution of the Staffing Rating comes from the top matrix. The number is found in the column already specified and the row defined by the value of the staff rating. The contribution of the Quality Management Rating comes from the lower matrix. The number is found in the same column specified above and the row defined by the value of the Quality Management Rating. The composite Five-Star Rating is the summation of these three numbers with the caveat that the total can never be less than one or greater than five.

"The key to remember is that it goes beyond the numbers, at Harmony Healthcare International we help facilities take the data and implement clinical practices that improve care," added Mastrangelo.

About Harmony Healthcare International
Harmony Healthcare International was founded in 2001. With headquarters in Topsfield, MA, Harmony Healthcare International services clients in the skilled nursing, acute care, home health and assisted living markets with operational and compliance consulting, training and educational programs and talent management services. With a staff of accomplished healthcare clinicians who serve as consultants to For-Profit, Not-For-Profit, Standalone and Multi-Facility Chains across the country, Harmony Healthcare International has been ranked among the top 5,000 fastest growing private companies in the U.S. for 3 consecutive years by Inc. Magazine. Harmony Healthcare International, "We care about care."

Visit us at: http://www.harmony-healthcare.com/

Media Contact Jon A. Di Gesu Vice President of Marketing
jdigesu(at)harmony-healthcare(dot)com
@JonDiGesu
(O) 978.887.8919 (C) 603.770.5731

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