The Hospice Quality Reporting Program (HQRP), mandated by the Affordable Care Act of 2010 directs the Secretary to establish quality reporting requirements for hospice programs. A new CMS webinar was scheduled to explain the basics of the Hospice Quality Reporting Program (HQRP).
According to the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization (NHPCO) reported that the HQRP Requirements are as follows: Hospices are required to comply with requirements for two HQRP program components that comprise the data sources for the measures:
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Hospice Item Set (HIS)… A component of the HQRP for the FY 2016 APU and subsequent years. HIS is a patient level data collection tool developed by CMS. Hospices are required to submit an HIS-Admission record and an HIS-Discharge record for each patient.
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CAHPS® Hospice Survey… A component of the HQRP for the FY 2017 APU and subsequent years. CAHPS Hospice is a post death family caregiver survey developed by CMS for the assessment of patient and family experiences with hospice care.
The webinar provided a basic understanding of the Hospice Item Set (HIS) and Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (CAHPS®) Hospice Survey.
According to CMS, The HQRP is currently “pay-for-reporting,” meaning it is the act of submitting timely and complete data that determines compliance with HQRP requirements. Performance level is not a consideration when determining market basket updates/Annual Payment Updates (APU). Reporting compliance is determined by successfully fulfilling both the Hospice CAHPS® Survey requirements and the HIS data submission requirements.
