5 Star Quality Nursing Home Rating System
This week CMS rolled out their 5 Star Quality Nursing Home rating system, and USA Today and the Associated Press have published stories about it. There are large debates going on about this system. There are great concerns that the data it reflects is flawed. Providers have found that the information is inaccurate and may be misleading to consumers. Most providers agree that it is a good idea to find a way to rank nursing home quality. But is 5 Star the answer?
The 5 Star system offers family members an easy method to understand the quality of the care in the facility. But does it offer enough information when making the very hard decision to place a loved one in a nursing home? Are the areas of quality, that this system ranks, detailed enough or could the information be false or misinterpreted?
Larry Minnix, President and CEO of AAHSA, stated that there should be two types of nursing homes "the excellent and the non-existent." I agree with Mr. Minnix, all nursing homes should strive to be a high quality person centered place for elders to live or they should not be able to have people living there. Will CMS's 5 Star Quality Nursing Home rating system force low quality homes to improve their care, safety and staffing?
What do you think? What experience have you had this far with the new rating system?