Home Health Compare: Web site offers critical information to consumers and professionals

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), a federal agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, has released new data about the quality of care provided by Medicare-certified home health agencies as part of an expanding initiative to continue to improve the home care services that are provided to millions of Americans. The initiative combines information about the quality of care provided by individual home health agencies-for use by consumers, their families, and health care professionals-with important resources to assist home health agencies working to improve quality of care. This article provides an overview of that initiative, and discusses information available on the Home Health Compare Web site that case managers and discharge planners will find useful for helping patients and their families select a home health agency.