Last week the federal government released information on some of the most troubled nursing homes and this initiative could pave the way for further information to be provided to the public domain if Congress passes a bill that was introduced earlier this year. While many private operators publish data on quality of care, their offerings could become less relevant by having the government provide similar information from its national database. While a larger scope of care information maybe provided, some of the private publishing companies may have access to more in-depth information than the government’s database. The Wall Street Journal article, “Web Sites Expand Rating Information on Nursing Homes“, discusses a variety of the web sites that provide information currently on the different Nursing Homes and Nursing Home Providers.
As the population in America continues to grow older, the ability to have a centralized repository with high quality information will be important for most seniors and their children when considering a nursing home facility. Typically, government databases are only as good as the people who put the information into the system through the reports and many times that data can be in-accurate or untimely. Sounds like typical government data to me….
