QAPI Solutions for Continuous Hospice Quality Improvement

Hospice Quality Reporting Program (HQRP) – the new HQRP metrics and measures have changed the way we need to manage the delivery of our clinical services. We have moved beyond simply measuring satisfaction (CAHPS) and self-reported admission outcomes (HIS) and reportable data now looks at multiple areas of clinical service delivery. Most hospice agencies have identified that they have a need to delve deeply into existing practices to guarantee the highest scores on these publicly reported outcomes. These metrics will eventually be drivers of reimbursement and VBID design and contracts.

Our team will analyze your data and identify your highest priorities, gaps in process and develop a plan to make the changes necessary to move your score. Our support services will help you implement these plans successfully.

HQRP metric reviews, process improvement planning and focused planning to enhance your results.

Hospice Care Index (HCI) – This composite score is composed of ten single point measures of clinical delivery. Included in the HCI are metrics that looks at areas of high opportunity for most hospices:

Whether your issue is Hospice Visits in the Last Days of Life (HVLDL) or Burdensome Transitions Type I or II, the public reporting of new HQRP metrics will impact your census, VBP metrics and ultimately your bottom line. High performing hospices have been addressing these issues since they were first introduced. If this is not on your high priority list, you may find yourself behind the curve and floundering as the Medicare landscape changes.

Value Based Purchasing (VBP), VBID (Value based insurance design) and Medicare Advantage programs are all moving towards reviewing HQRP scores to determine reimbursement and identify provider contracts. If your scores are not meeting the baseline, you could be quickly losing revenue and payer sources quickly.

Let Hospice Support Specialists help you get ahead with a solution before this becomes your problem. Our expert teammates can help you identify opportunities, develop customized yet proven strategies to address your outliers and even oversee the execution of improvement plans.

Get ahead of the curve, before you get left behind!

Hospice Support Specialists teammates are experts in review, analysis and strategic planning for improvement of all areas of CAHPS. Many clients have told us that their greatest challenge is finding a way to make the changes necessary to improve quality scores. Our teammates can manage the implementation of these process changes and trainings. We all know that it takes six months to a year to see the effects of any process improvement effort when it comes to satisfaction surveys. There is urgency around initiating and executing process changes before it is too late.

CAHPS scores can be vary based on patient location, how your surveys are being conducted (mail, telephone, hybrid) and how the survey recipient is identified. Addressing underlying reporting barriers is the first step in correcting CAHPS deficiencies. Hospice Support Specialists will review your processes, complete a root cause analysis and identify action items to correct any CAHPS outliers.

Project management by an experienced Hospice Support Specialists teammate will help you implement your quality improvement and process plans to be successful and truly improve outcomes. Let us help you fix your QAPI, PIPS, HCI and CAHPS scores for real, not just remain a vision on paper.