On March 3rd, the National Quality Forum (NQF) announced that it has endorsed 21 measures for public reporting and quality improvement to be used in Nursing Home Compare (NHC). The 17 MDS 2.0-based nursing home quality measures (originally completed by the NQF in 2004) were retired with the implementation of MDS 3.0. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) reported last fall that the MDS 2.0-based measures would be removed from NHC and factored out of a facility's Five-Star Quality Rating in April 2011. After April, CMS anticipates no public reporting of quality measures on Nursing Home Compare until 2012. 

According to the NQF:

The 21 NQF-endorsed nursing home measures assess patient outcomes and the patient's own experience of care for both long-term residents and short-stay patients. The measures address falls, infections, pressure ulcers, and the general health of residents and patients. Examples of endorsed measures include:

• Percentage of patients who received influenza and pneumococcal vaccinations;
• Percentage of residents with urinary tract infections;
• Percentage of residents who need increased help with activities of daily living; and
• Patient experience of care surveys for both long-term residents and short-stay patients.

Providers should note that, in addition to 18 MDS 3.0-based measures, there are three measures that will measure the consumers' experiences with the provider. The Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (CAHPS) program is a multi-year initiative of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) to support the assessment of consumers' experiences with health care.

The next step in the finalization of the measures is that the public has 30 days to appeal the final decision to endorse a voluntary consensus standard. Any party may request reconsideration of the recommendations, in whole or in part, by notifying NQF in writing no later than April 1st at 6:00p.m. EST. Details of the status of the project and each of the measures is available at the following link: