NHPCO QUALITY ALERT

To:  NHPCO Provider Members
From:  Health Policy Team
Date:  March 28, 2018

Transitions from Hospice Care, Followed by Death or Acute Care, Draft Measure Development for Hospice Quality Reporting Program (HQRP)

CMS announced that they have contracted with RTI International to develop claims based quality measures for the Hospice Quality Reporting Program (HQRP). CMS is seeking to supplement the existing HQRP measure set, which includes quality measures based on the Hospice Item Set (HIS) and the Hospice Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (CAHPS®), with measures that address additional identified gaps in hospice quality measurement without increasing burden to providers.

The call for public comment period closes on April 25, 2018.  View the public comment webpage for more information.

Two New Educational Series Available to Hospice Providers

CMS introduced two series of educational modules, which are now available for on-demand streaming by hospice providers.

The first series focuses on helping providers navigate the websites pertinent to the Hospice Quality Reporting Program (HQRP). CMS has recently redesigned the HQRP website, the CAHPS® survey website, and the QIES Technical Support Office (QTSO) website to improve the user experience. This series also reminds providers of the Help Desks available to them to assist with HQRP-related questions.

The second series focuses on refined coding guidance for the HIS. Based on questions frequently asked on the Hospice Quality Help Desk, CMS has produced refined coding guidance for select Hospice Item Set (HIS) items. Refined coding guidance includes additional clarification on clinical examples, tips, and item-level HIS coding guidance.

Both series are available on CMS’s YouTube channels as short, self-directed segments (or modules). Slides and speaker notes for each series are also available on the “Hospice Quality Reporting Training: Training and Education Library” webpage.

Please email questions about this alert to NHPCO at quality@nhpco.org