CMS alters quality metrics on Hospital Compare site

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid has quietly changed the quality metrics it includes on its hospital comparison website (Source: “Feds stop public disclosure of many serious hospital errors,” Zanesville Times Recorder, Aug. 7, 2014).

CMS has stopped publically reporting eight “hospital-acquired conditions” and instead, is reporting the rate of occurrence for 13 conditions, including infections such as MRSA and sepsis after surgery. CMS said some of the new data include different, more reliable measurements of the same conditions, such as its new use of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data on bloodstream infections.

CMS changed what it reports to make it "more comprehensive and most relevant to consumers," according to spokesman Aaron Albright.

CMS said the new measures received "strong support" from a partnership of the National Quality Forum, the public-private entity that reviews performance measures that might be used in federal or private reporting and payment programs, and CMS prefers to use NQF-endorsed measures because they "offer a rigorous and thorough review process."