Fact Sheets

Inpatient Rehabilitation Facility (IRF) Compare Website

Inpatient Rehabilitation Facility (IRF) Compare Website
This fact sheet contains information about the Inpatient Rehabilitation Facility (IRF) compare website that was launched on December 14, 2016.

I. Background 

Why is this information being released?

Section 3004(b) of the Affordable Care Act established the IRF Quality Reporting Program (QRP) and requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish procedures for making quality data submitted by IRFs available to the public. This Compare release contains data from approximately 87 percent of all IRFs.

What data is being displayed on IRF Compare?

There are two quality measures that are being displayed on IRF Compare:

1. Percent of Residents or Patients with Pressure Ulcers that are New or Worsened (Short Stay) (NQF #0678)
2. All-Cause Readmission Measure for 30 Days Post Discharge from Inpatient Rehabilitation Facilities (NQF #2502)

What is the source of this publicly reported data?

Data for the measure Percent of Residents or Patients with Pressure Ulcers that are New or Worsened (Short Stay) was collected and submitted to CMS via the Inpatient Rehabilitation Facility Patient Assessment Instrument (IRF-PAI). Data for the measure All-Cause Readmission Measure for 30 Days Post-Discharge from Inpatient Rehabilitation Facilities is based on Medicare Fee for Service claims submitted by IRFs and other hospital providers.

How is the data on the IRF Compare site relevant to consumers? How will they use the site?

Under the Affordable Care Act, IRFs are required to report quality data to CMS on a number of quality measures and health outcomes. These new tools take this data and put it into a format that can be used more readily by the public to get a snapshot of the quality of care each hospital provides. For instance, these tools will help families compare some key quality metrics, such as what percentage of an IRF’s patients have new or worsened pressure ulcers, and what percentage of an IRF’s patients are readmitted to an acute care hospital (or a higher level of care) after discharge from that IRF. Comparing how IRFs perform on certain quality metrics allows consumers to make better informed decisions about their healthcare.

II. Summary of Findings

The performance data shows the national “Rate of pressure ulcers that are new or worsened” is 0.8 percent. For this quality measure, this means IRFs across the country reported that, on average, 0.8 percent of patients developed a new pressure ulcer(s) and/or a worsened pressure ulcer(s) during their stay.

The performance data shows the national “Rate of hospital readmissions after discharge from IRFs” is 13.06 percent. For this quality measure this means 13.06 percent of patients cared for in an IRF were readmitted to an acute care hospital for any unplanned reason within 30 days of discharge from the IRF. The patient may have been discharged home or to a lower level of care (for example, a skilled nursing facility or nursing home) prior to the readmission.

Due to the CDC’s recent efforts to implement a new national baseline for healthcare-acquired Infections (HAIs) that are reported to CMS via the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC’s) National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN), CMS has made the decision to wait until the spring 2017 refresh to publish healthcare-acquired infection (HAI) data on IRF Compare.

III. Resources Available to Providers

Where can I find more information about the IRF Compare?

• Providers should visit the IRF Quality Public Reporting webpage for more information on IRF compare.
• Providers should visit the IRF Quality Reporting Data Submission Deadlines webpage for more information on submitting IRF data to CMS.

Help Desks

• For questions about IRF-PAI data submissions or status of data submissions via CASPER reports, call 1-800-339-9313 or email help@qtso.com.
• For questions about IRF quality data submitted to CMS via CDC’s NHSN, or NHSN Registration, email NHSN@cdc.gov.
• For questions about IRF Public Reporting, email IRF Public Reporting helpdesk: IRFPRquestions@cms.hhs.gov.
• Detailed guidance on how to run and interpret IRF-PAI provider reports can be found in Section 3 of the CASPER Reporting User’s Manual.  
• For questions about quality measure calculation, data submission deadlines, or data items contained within the Quality Indicator section of the IRF-PAI, email IRF.Questions@cms.hhs.gov.
• Subscribe to the Post-Acute Care Quality Reporting Program (PAC QRP) listserv for the latest IRF Quality Reporting Program and IMPACT Act information including but not limited to training, stakeholder engagement opportunities, and general updates about reporting requirements, quality measures, and reporting deadlines. 

IV. Additional Compare Sites

• Hospital Compare
• Physician Compare
• Nursing Home Compare
• Dialysis Compare
• Home Health Compare
• Long-Term Care Hospital (LTCH) Compare

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