The Association Between Home Health Compare Quality Metrics and Acute Care Hospitalizations

Abstract

Currently, a large number of home health care episodes end in acute care hospitalization (ACH). The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services reports publically a set of quality measures, including ACH rate, for home health agencies. The objective of this study was to determine the relationship between reported Home Health Compare metrics and ACH rates. Using beta regression and controlling for urban/rural classification, median household income, and state levels of rehospitalizations, we modeled the multivariate relationship between acute hospital utilization and each separate measure of home care processes and outcomes. From our analysis, we found that two measures addressing the issue of pain management and improvement in bathing ability had strong associations with a decrease in ACH rate.

Keywords

home health care home health compare quality metrics acute hospitalization rate Medicare

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