GAO REPORT ON QUALITY MEASURES 12/1/02

VHCA

A newly released GAO study of the public reporting of CMS Quality Measures notes that the November 2002 implementation of the Nursing Home Quality Initiative did not allow sufficient time to ensure that the indicators were appropriate and useful to consumers.  Highlights of the October 2002 GAO report indicated that there were serious concerns about the potential for public confusion of the quality information published, and that the reporting format implied a precision in the data that is lacking at this time.  A copy of the full report is available at www.gao.gov/new.items/d03187.pdf.