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Some nursing homes' reported staffing levels in 2018 raise concerns: consumer transparency could be increased
Some nursing homes' reported staffing levels in 2018 raise concerns: consumer transparency could be increased
- Collection:
- Health Policy and Services Research
- Series Title(s):
- Data brief
- Contributor(s):
- United States. Department of Health and Human Services. Office of Inspector General. Office of Evaluation and Inspections, issuing body.
- Publication:
- [Washington, D.C.] : U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General, 2020 Aug
- Language(s):
- English
- Format:
- Text
- Subject(s):
- Data Management -- legislation & jurisprudence
Government Regulation
Nursing Homes -- standards
Personnel Staffing and Scheduling -- standards
United States
United States. Department of Health and Human Services - Genre(s):
- Technical Report
- Abstract:
- Why This Review Is Important. Nurse staffing is a key contributor to the quality of care provided in nursing homes. This review, initiated before the COVID-19 pandemic emerged, focuses on staffing data from 2018. However, the 2020 pandemic reinforces the importance of adequate staffing for nursing homes, as inadequate staffing can make it more difficult for nursing homes to respond to infectious disease outbreaks like COVID-19. Consumers need meaningful information about nurse staffing at nursing homes to make informed care decisions. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) created the Payroll-Based Journal (PBJ)—a system containing self-reported provider data—to collect nursing homes’ daily staffing hours. CMS requires a minimum number of daily hours for different types of nurses, but CMS does not use PBJ data to enforce daily Federal staffing requirements. CMS uses PBJ data to calculate and publicly report Staffing Star Ratings on Nursing Home Compare. Prior public releases of PBJ data indicate that some nursing homes report low nurse staffing, which could impact residents’ quality of care. However, CMS does not regularly publish information on day-to-day nurse staffing levels. How OIG Did This Review. We analyzed nursing homes’ 2018 daily staffing data from the PBJ. We determined how frequently nursing homes reported daily staffing below federally required levels in 2018 and identified quarterly trends. We compared nursing homes’ quarterly Staffing Star Ratings to their daily staffing. To discuss residents’ experiences, we also surveyed 20 Local Long-Term Care Ombudsmen (Local LTCOs). We obtained their perspectives on the ways daily fluctuations in nurse staffing may affect residents in the nursing homes that the Local LTCOs monitor.
- Copyright:
- The National Library of Medicine believes this item to be in the public domain. (More information)
- Extent:
- 1 online resource (1 PDF file (37 pages))
- Illustrations:
- Illustrations
- NLM Unique ID:
- 9918282076806676 (See catalog record)
- Permanent Link:
- http://resource.nlm.nih.gov/9918282076806676