Content contained in this newsletter may have been previously published in prior issues of the QCC newsletter.  
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The Florida Nursing Home
Quality Care Connection
This QCC Newsletter is your monthly National Nursing Home Quality Care Collaborative (NNHQCC) in Florida member update that provides information on the latest activities. It is a quick reference for information on links to improvement tools, resources, news, best practices, and success stories. 
Have you Reviewed Your Nursing Home's Current Quality Measure Composite Score?
The Quality Measure Composite Score, developed by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), comprises 13 long-stay measures and is an excellent "barometer" of your facility's performance. The CMS goal is for nursing homes to achieve a Composite Score of 6 percent or less. 
 
For more information, please read the NNHQCC Quality Measure Composite Score handout at  https://goo.gl/5KVRj5 . 
 
Given the Composite Score data is always six months old, the best way to access more recent Quality Measure data is at your fingertips through the MDS 3.0 CASPER Report.
Contact us with any questions at FL-NNHQCC@hsag.com
Ideas for Indwelling Catheters
Indwelling catheters can be uncomfortable and inhibit mobility. They can also lead to serious complications and infections. The indwelling catheter quality measure (QM) reports the percentage of residents who had an indwelling catheter at any time during the 7-day look-back period. The denominator of this QM includes all long-stay residents with a selected target assessment, except those with the following exclusions:                          
  1. Target assessment is an admission assessment or a Prospective Payment System (PPS), 5-day, or readmissions assessment.
  2. Assessment indicates indwelling catheter status is missing.
  3. Assessment shows resident has a diagnosis of neurogenic bladder and/or obstruction and these diagnoses are coded on the Minimum Data Set (MDS).
 
Learn more about the calculation of this QM on page 34 of the Minimum Data Set (MDS) 3.0 Quality Measures User's Manual (v11.0 04-01-2017).
 
Performance Improvement Project (PIP) teams should assess whether residents with catheters really require them based on specific diagnoses and conditions. PIP teams should work to improve their indwelling catheter QM and consider some of these questions to help their quality improvement efforts:
  • Was the MDS coded per Resident Assessment Instrument requirements?
  • Did the resident have a diagnosis of neurogenic bladder and/or obstruction and was this coded on the MDS?
  • Is it possible to complete post-void residuals or straight catheterization to eliminate the use of the indwelling catheter?
  • Additionally, PIP teams must ensure their goal to lower the use of indwelling catheter is clearly communicated and involves all staff members, residents, and families. 
  
 
Next month: An overview of the National Nursing Home Quality Improvement Campaign
QAPI Corner
STEP 9: Prioritize Quality Opportunities and Charter PIPs

With this step, Quality Assurance & Performance Improvement (QAPI) starts to focus on the "performance-improvement" side of QAPI. Prioritizing the opportunities for improvement you identified in Step 7 (Identify Your Gaps & Opportunities) is a key step in the process of translating data into action. You and your team need to decide which opportunities:
  • Need to be addressed now.
  • Carry the most importance to your residents, facility, and staff members.
  • Are "low-hanging fruit" and can be quickly and simply rectified.
  • Once your opportunities are prioritized, it is time to "charter" your PIP team. To charter means to entrust the team with a mission that is truly important to everyone in your facility. This team should:
  • Include people who bring different but equally important perspectives to the table.
  • Include anyone from department heads to nurse aides to residents.
  • Involve individuals who have expertise, knowledge, and/or background that make them important members of the PIP team.
  
For more information on this topic, read page 16 of QAPI at a Glance . Prioritization Worksheets for PIPs contained in the QAPI: An Electronic Resource Library electronic workbook on the HSAG website at https://goo.gl/BxVcFA . 
 
Next month: Plan, Conduct, and Document PIPs
Quality Assurance and Performance Improvement Resources
HSAG Resource Spotlight
Care coordination resources aim to improve transitions of care and lower unnecessary hospital readmissions. Learn more.
 
In addition to the NNHQCC Change Package v2.2., the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has just released an important new resource: All Cause Harm Prevention in Nursing Homes Change Package.
 
This package is a compendium of successful practices of high performing nursing homes, illustrating how they prevent harm while honoring each resident's rights and preferences.
This material was prepared by Health Services Advisory Group, the Medicare Quality Innovation Network-Quality Improvement Organization for Arizona, California, Florida, Ohio, and the U.S. Virgin Islands, under contract with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), an agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The contents presented do not necessarily reflect CMS policy. Publication No.
FL-11SOW-C.2-01282019-01