The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has released the Home and Community-Based Services (HCBS) Quality Measure Set Measure Summaries guidance. The new summary document offers states greater insight into the various tools and measures included in the Home and Community-Based Services (HCBS) Quality Measure Set. Released in July 2022, the HCBS Quality Measure Set incorporates certain indicators of CQL’s Personal Outcome Measures®.
“The measure set offers states a solid blueprint for evaluating and enhancing quality in home and community-based services,” says Mary Kay Rizzolo, President and CEO of CQL | The Council on Quality and Leadership. “And this supplemental summary document expands upon the initial measure set information, with even more detail about these great measurement tools.”
The HCBS Quality Measure Set Measure Summaries document details each of the measurement tools, including descriptions, authorship information, priority areas, domain categorization, and more for each tool. It also includes relevant links to where states and other stakeholders can access additional information, including links to the tools themselves.
About The HCBS Quality Measure Set
The Home and Community-Based Services (HCBS) Quality Measure Set intends to help states and the disability service system evaluate and improve quality for those receiving home and community-based services. As stated in the CMS guidance, the HCBS Quality Measure Set is “intended to promote more common and consistent use, within and across states, of nationally standardized quality measures in HCBS programs and to create opportunities for CMS and states to have comparative quality data on HCBS programs.” The HCBS Quality Measure Set details CMS-recognized measurement tools, the method for collecting data, the associated assurance and subassurances, as well as some broad considerations for implementation.
Measurement Tools
In addition to some measures focused on specific service areas, the measurement tools and their authors listed in the HCBS Quality Measure Set include:
- Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (CAHPS®)
Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) - National Core Indicators (NCI)®
Human Services Research Institute (HSRI)
The National Association of State Directors of Developmental Disabilities Services (NASDDDS) - Personal Outcome Measures® (POM)
CQL | The Council on Quality and Leadership
About The Personal Outcome Measures®
The Personal Outcome Measures® (POM) is a powerful tool to ensure supports and services are truly person-centered. In a Personal Outcome Measures® interview, people receiving services share information about the presence, importance, and achievement of outcomes. Their support providers then discuss the services that the organization has in place for those outcomes. These interviews cover quality of life areas involving choice, health, safety, social capital, relationships, rights, goals, dreams, employment, and more.
The insight gained during a Personal Outcome Measures® interview can then be used to inform a person-centered plan, improve individualized supports, track progress, and assess effectiveness. At an aggregate level, human service providers, managed care organizations (MCOs), and state systems can use this data to analyze initiatives, evaluate priorities, and report results to stakeholders.
Action Steps For The HCBS Quality Measure Set
States are being urged to use the HCBS Quality Measure Set in their review and analysis of services and supports for people receiving home and community-based services. The measurement tools listed in the HCBS Quality Measure Set are intended to provide concrete methods for that evaluation. At this time, CMS has not mandated the use of the HCBS Quality Measure Set. However, according to the initial release in July 2022, CMS “strongly encourages states to use the measures and plans to incorporate use of the measure set into the reporting requirements for specific authorities and programs.”
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About CQL | The Council on Quality and Leadership
Since 1969, CQL | The Council on Quality and Leadership has been a leader in working with human service organizations and systems to continuously define, measure, and improve quality of life and quality of services for youth, adults, and older adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities, and psychiatric disabilities. CQL offers accreditation, training, certification, research, and consultation services to agencies that share our vision of dignity, opportunity, and community for all people.
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CMS Includes CQL’s Personal Outcome Measures® In HCBS Quality Measure Set
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is acknowledging the Personal Outcome Measures® (POM), created by CQL | The Council on Quality and Leadership, as a nationally-recognized quality measure.
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CMS Releases HCBS Quality Measure Set Measure Summaries, Including The POM