Inpatient Preview Reports now available

January 11, 2011

The preview reports for March 2011 Hospital Compare for the Hospital Quality Alliance (HQA) initiative and the Hospital Inpatient Quality Reporting program (Reporting Program), formerly known as the Reporting Hospital Quality Data for Annual Payment Update (RHQDAPU) program, are now available January 11 through February 9 on My QualityNet for participating hospitals and Quality Improvement Organizations (QIOs).

Registered QualityNet users who have been assigned the QIO Clinical Warehouse Feedback Reports role have access to the reports. The data in the preview reports will be reported on Hospital Compare, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ (CMS) website for Medicare beneficiaries and the general public. The Hospital Compare release is scheduled for March.

Structural Measures

The structural measures data, collected from July 1, 2010, through August 15, 2010, is based on hospital participation during First Quarter 2010 and Second Quarter 2010. The structural measures data is only refreshed for the December Hospital Compare release.

The structural measures include:

  • Participation in a Systematic Database for Cardiac Surgery
  • Participation in a Systematic Clinical Database Registry for Stroke Care
  • Participation in a Systematic Clinical Database Registry for Nursing Sensitive Care

Clinical Process Measures

The clinical process measures reflect data submitted to the QIO Clinical Warehouse for discharges from Third Quarter 2009 through Second Quarter 2010.

The clinical process measures include:

  • Acute Myocardial Infarction (AMI)
  • Heart Failure (HF)
  • Pneumonia (PN)
  • Surgical Care Improvement Project (SCIP)

Mortality and Readmission (Outcome) Measures

The mortality and readmission measures include data for patients discharged from Third Quarter 2006 through Second Quarter 2009. The mortality and readmission measures are only refreshed for the June Hospital Compare release.

The outcome measures include:

  • 30-Day Risk-Standardized Mortality for AMI, HF and PN
  • 30-Day Risk-Standardized Readmission for AMI, HF and PN

HCAHPS (Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers & Systems) Survey Measures

HCAHPS survey data includes patients discharged from Third Quarter 2009 through Second Quarter 2010.

HCAHPS results from all Inpatient Prospective Payment System (IPPS) hospitals participating in the Reporting Program are published on the Hospital Compare website. Hospitals will continue to receive a preview report prior to public reporting, and non-IPPS hospitals will continue to have the option of withholding HCAHPS results from being publicly reported.

More information

For more information on the reporting of the clinical process, mortality and readmission (outcome), and/or HCAHPS measures, refer to the March Help Guide, PDF. (The Help Guide can also be accessed on My QualityNet from the Need Help link located on the HQA Preview Report screen.) Hospitals are encouraged to carefully review the information in the Help Guide.

Pledge and suppression information

Hospitals may enroll in the HQA initiative and/or the Reporting Program at any time; however, HQA pledges must be received by the QIO on or before the last day of the preview period in order for the hospital’s data to display on the Hospital Compare website.

To withhold (suppress) publication of data, hospitals must contact the QIO Hospital Public Reporting contact with a request to withhold data and transmit a completed Inpatient Hospital Compare Request for Withholding Data from Public Reporting form on or before the last day of the preview period. Hospitals that have modified their pledge status or measure suppression will be able to view those changes on their preview report after an overnight process has completed unless the changes are completed on the last day of the preview period.

Questions

For questions relating to the structural or clinical process measures, contact the hospital’s state QIO. The QIO staff member may contact the Hospital Inpatient Quality Reporting Program Support Contractor, formerly known as the RHQDAPU QIOSC, for additional assistance.

For questions regarding mortality measures, contact the outcome measures implementation team at: cmsmortalitymeasures@yale.edu.

For questions regarding readmission measures, contact the outcome measures implementation team at: cmsreadmissionmeasures@yale.edu.

For questions regarding the HCAHPS measures, contact the HCAHPS Project Team at: hcahps@azqio.sdps.org.

For questions regarding other technical issues, contact the QualityNet Help Desk at: qnetsupport@sdps.org.

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