October’s Care Compare update will include a big change for the Quality of Patient Care Star Rating as a long-anticipated shift in hospitalization measures is finalized.
 
The Home Health Within-Stay Potentially Preventable Hospitalization (PPH) measure, publicly reported since last fall, will replace the Acute-Care Hospitalization (ACH) measure in star ratings calculations.
 
Along with this change, the ACH and the Emergency Department Use (ED Use) measures will no longer be publicly reported beginning in October, CMS noted during the latest Open Door Forum with providers Aug. 7.
 
CMS has noted that the PPH measure offers a better indication of avoidable hospitalizations for home health providers. Beginning in January, the measure will also be replacing ACH and ED Use in scoring for the Home Health Value-Based Purchasing Model.
 
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