A panel of experts has pinpointed new indicators to help measure the quality of primary care delivered in nursing homes.
The Society for Post-Acute and Long-Term Care, or AMDA, notes that current quality measures for this space focus on facility processes and characteristics. They’re not crafted specifically to evaluate a physician’s role in delivering care at a nursing home.
Aiming fill that gap, AMDA identified and adapted quality indicators for this practice and had them reviewed by 11 experts from the U.S., Canada and Europe. They rated dozens of measures on whether they were “valid” and “feasible” for regular clinical practice. All told, they decided on a final list of 95 indicators that passed the test, while eight were thrown out.
Some of those included recognizing geriatric syndromes, employing evidence-based long-term care practices, advocating for nursing home residents and delivering person-centered care. Their initial findings are published in the October Journal of Post-Acute and Long-Term Care Medicine.
Next, they plan to conduct studies to determine the association between using such quality indicators, primary care staffing models and better outcomes for nursing home residents, according to study authors.
