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State's Home Health Care Ranked Among the Worst

Posted on: Tuesday, 21 March 2006, 03:02 CST

By Guy Boulton, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Mar. 21--Home health care in Wisconsin ranked among the lowest in the nation in quality, according to a recent report the federal government.

The state's home health care agencies overall ranked below average in 11 of 12 quality measures, according to the National Healthcare Quality Report compiled the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. The federal agency supports research on improving the quality and efficiency of the health care system.

The agency ranked the quality of home health care in Wisconsin as "very weak" -- the same rating as last year.

The poor showing contrasted sharply with the performance of the state's hospitals, clinics and nursing homes. In those health care settings, the state ranked above average in quality performance.

"Wisconsin is a very good state for health care quality," said Dwight McNeill, who oversees the annual report for the agency.

For example, Wisconsin's hospitals were not below average in any of the quality measures cited in the report.

"That's pretty cool," McNeill said.

The report is based on surveys and information filed with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

Information on Wisconsin and other states is available at www.qualitytools.ahrq.gov/qualityreport/2005/state. The Web site was redesigned this year to show the overall ratings in a "performance meter" ranging from "very weak" to "very strong."

The Web site rates hospitals, clinics, nursing homes and home health care agencies as well as the state overall.

It also has information on specific quality measures. The quality measures for home health care, for example, include improvements in pain management, mobility and drug management.

The results are statewide averages and do not reflect individual home health care agencies.

Information on the quality performance of specific companies can be found at www.medicare.gov/HHCompare/Home.asp.

For hospitals, specific information is at www.hospitalcompare.hhs.gov. For nursing homes, it is at www.medicare.gov/NHCompare/home.asp.

McNeill did not know why home health care in Wisconsin lagged behind other states in quality.

"One hypothesis is home health has been late to the game in quality improvement," he said.

The state showed improvement, McNeill said, but other states also improved.

The Wisconsin Homecare Organization, a trade organization, could not be reached for comment late Monday afternoon.

But Stephanie Marquis, a spokeswoman for the Department of Health and Family Services, said: "These results are disappointing. We are not where we need to be."

The department regulates home health care agencies.

Marquis, too, noted that the state showed improvement in the quality measures.

She also said that Gov. Jim Doyle's proposal to expand the Family Care program could improve the quality of home health care throughout the state.

Family Care allows seniors and people with disabilities to get care in their homes rather than nursing homes.

Marquis said that an assessment of the program, available in a limited number of counties, including Milwaukee County, found that it improved people's health and quality of life while saving the state money.

"The outcomes have been better -- we have measurable improvements," she said.

Under the program, the state contracts with a managed-care company that in turn hires home health care agencies.

Payments in the program are tied to meeting certain quality measures.

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Copyright (c) 2006, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News.

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Source: The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

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