HPI AAG
In This Issue
Important Dates
QualityNet and Quality Measures
Validation Studies
Other News
Important Dates
August 2010 - RHQDAPU Confidence Interval scores (the Validation component used in determining your hospitals qualification to receive their Annual Payment Update) for FY 2011 are expected to be calculated & posted in August via My QualityNet. A memo will be released when results have been made available.  
 
August 1, 2010 - Inpatient Population & Sampling counts due into My QualityNet. As a reminder, no boxes/fields are to left blank. Zero's are to be used if you hospital has no cases in a particular clinical topic.
 
August 10, 2010 - End of the HQA & RHQDAPU 30-day preview period for the September 2010 CMS Hospital Compare Web sit refresh. 
 
August 15, 2010 - Deadline for Q1 2010 inpatient-level data to the Warehouse. Please review your RHQDAPU Provider Participation Report in QualityNet for completeness & that your hospitals sample size requirements have been satisfied.
 
 
QualityNet and Quality Measures
The IPPS FY 2011 Final Rule has been released. To view the FACT Sheet and the "MEDICARES FY 2011 HOSPITAL INPATIENT PROSPECTIVE PAYMENT SYSTEM FINAL RULE" dated July 30, 2010 go to the following link:  http://www.cms.gov/apps/media/fact_sheets.asp .
 
The RHQDAPU Provider Participation Report for 2010 now includes the following new fields:
  • Data Accuracy and Completeness Acknowledgement (field should be marked 'Yes' indicating a completed status)
  • Completed Structural Measures (field should be marked 'Yes' indicating a completed status)
  • Selected for Clinical Measure Validation (field will be either a 'Yes' or 'No' as to whether your hospital is one of the 800 nationally to be selected for Validation for FY 2012)
  • Discharge Quarter Sample Frequency per measure/strata
HQA Preview Reports are still available within My QualityNet. The reports include process measures and HCAHPS data for Q1-Q4 2009 discharges. Since the reports are only available for 30 days, we encourage you to generate your report before the close of the preview period.
 
Reminder: Specific Data Elements updated for discharges 4/1/10 through 9/30/10, Version 3.1a are still current & worth noting their importance. They are:
  1. Anesthesia Start and End Time, Anesthesia Start and End Date - The anesthesia record was made the priority data source. The meaning of Anesthesia End Time was clarified as to when anesthesia signs off to the person providing the post-anesthesia care.
  2. Comfort Measures Only - The data source, "Restraint Order Sheet" was added to the exclusion listing. Documentation of an inclusion term on a restraint order sheet should be disregarded. Example, the term "comfort measures" listed on a restraint order should not be abstracted as an inclusion to CMO.
 
New for 10/1/10 discharges:
  1. AMI-10 Statin at Discharge - This is a CMS only measure, released in the Specifications Manual Version 3.2a. Pending the Final Rule, it is expected that data collection will be required to start with January 1, 2011 discharges.
  2. ED Measures - "CMS has made the decision to change the ED Measures from informational only to voluntary, to allow hospitals to begin submitting data for this measure set (for inpatient). Extensive changes were made to the ED-1 (Median Time from ED Arrival to ED Departure for Admitted ED Patients) and ED-2  (Admit Decision Time to ED Departure Time for Admitted Patients), Measure Information Forms and Algorithms." For a complete listing of updates, review the Release Notes for Version 3.2a & 3.2b.
FACT Sheets for both the AMI-10 and ED-1 & 2 measures will be released via the list serve closer to the 10/1/10 discharge timeframe. 
 
CART: Hospitals using the CART Tool should be using Version 4.8, efffective with discharges 4/1/2010 - 9/30/2010 for inpatient data collection. For assistance in downloading this updated Version of CART (beginning data abstraction for Q2 2010 discharges), contact the Help Desk directly at 1-866-288-8912.
Validation Studies
An updated Hospital Inpatient Medical Record Validation Schedule/Deadlines document has been posted on QualityNet. To view click here, for the document dated 7/15/10.
 
Hospitals selected for FY 2012 medical record validation have been identified. To view whether your hospital has been selected, review your  RHQDAPU Provider Participation Report in My QualityNet. If your hospital has been selected, a hard-copy request for medical records for Q1 2010 validation will be sent to your hospital at the end of August. The list of hospitals selected for FY 2012 validation have also been made public on the QualityNet Web site, under the Data Validation area.  For questions, contact Karen O'Leary at KOLeary@nyqio.sdps.org
 
 
Other News
Looking for your hospital's quality reported data? Looking to perform a hospital search & data comparison? The correct Web site link is 
http://www.hospitalcompare.hhs.gov/hospital-search.aspx  

HPI At a Glance Monthly Update: August, 2010
This material was prepared by IPRO, the Medicare Quality Improvement Organization for New York State, 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. 9SOW-NY-THM6.1-10-20