Senior care providers have begun to see substantial results in their efforts to improve quality of care in the months following the American Health Care Association’s (AHCA) Quality Initiative announcement in February 2012.
By December 2012, AHCA members have safely reduced the number of hospital readmissions within 30 days during a skilled nursing facility stay by 15%, according to a Long Term Care Leader blog post.
After measuring risk-adjusted rehospitalization data, AHCA members analyzed data through the third quarter of 2012. Comparing the baseline period of fourth quarter 2011, 54% of AHCA members saw a decrease in their rates readmission rates, with 25% already reaching their three-year reduction goal.
Regarding the off-label use of antipsychotics, nearly 30% of AHCA members were able to achieve a reduction of 15% form fourth quarter 2011 to third quarter 2012.
Similar to hospital readmissions, more than half (55%) of AHCA members were able to achieve a reduction in their rates. However, data for fourth quarter 2012 will not be available until later in April, notes the blog post.
As for AHCA’s last two goals of staff stability and customer satisfaction, the association says it does not yet have the data to assess its progress in those areas. Although the 2011 survey was just released, AHCA says that it is now beginning to collect data for the calendar year 2012, which it will use to report on its first year of progress.
Written by Jason Oliva
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