A new study suggests that nursing home providers could be vastly underreporting major-injury falls in the Minimum Data Set, which the Nursing Home Compare website uses to report nursing home performance.
University of Chicago researchers found that 150,828 major-injury falls appeared in claims that occurred during nursing home residency. Just 57.5% of those were reported on the MDS item (J1900C). Findings appeared in December in Health Services Research.
The study assessed the accuracy of nursing home self-reporting of falls on the MDS. Researchers used data from Medicare claims between 2011 and 2015 for the investigation. The data was then compared to MDS 3.0 assessments submitted by providers during that same time period.
About 63% of major-injury falls were reported for long-stay residents on the MDS item, while 47% were reported for short-stay residents. Also, major-injury falls among white residents were reported at a higher rate than among non-white residents.
“Our study indicates an urgent need to assess the value and limits of patient safety measurement that is based on the MDS,” authors wrote. “Given the amount of research that has been based on the MDS, it may be important to revisit some of our understanding of nursing home quality of care.”
From the February 2020 Issue of McKnight's Long-Term Care News
