Nursing Homes: Good Report Cards Mean More Money

Nursing homes that improve their quality of care - and thereby score high on public report cards - might see financial gains.

If the facilities receive a high or middle quality ranking by the report cards after making improvements, they can experience higher revenues and profit margins, a new study concludes.

Yet, improvements in quality are not always enough to boost a facility's fortunes, the researchers found. Nursing homes that increased their score on the report cards, but still ranked as low quality, did not get the same financial benefits.

The study, published online in the journal Health Services Research, is one of the first to examine the business case for quality reporting and health facilities, according to lead author.

The researchers analyzed the financial performance of nursing homes before and after the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services publicly began reporting the quality of care at more than 6,000 Medicare and Medicaid-certified nursing homes throughout the United States.

The Nursing Home Compare (NHC) report card, introduced in 2002, measures how well the facilities do in controlling their patients' pain, preventing bedsores, keeping their residents active and other care concerns.

"Nursing homes want solid evidence that quality pays," before spending money on quality improvements, said Park, the studies leader, who noted that for-profit companies own or operate most U.S. nursing homes.

The researchers wanted to answer the question: Does a good grade on a quality report card mean more money for a nursing home? The short answer is 'yes.' "Nursing homes that improve on NHC measures are likely to increase revenues under public reporting," they concluded.

Public reporting might help people choose high-quality nursing homes, which could in turn drive the homes to improve their quality to attract more residents, the researchers suggest.

REHACARE.de; Source: Health Services Research

( Source: REHACARE.de )

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