Dive Brief:
- The Dialysis Five-Star Program, meant to provide consumers with a quality rating system for the nation's dialysis centers, has been delayed until January. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services had planned to begin the program on October 9, but moved it back so they can more thoroughly educate consumers and improve the verification and correction process; and so dialysis centers have time to review their ratings.
- CMS announced that it would begin rating dialysis providers in July. Providers immediately began noting problems with the system, including potentially confusing results and problems with the program's methodology.
- This is the newest installment of the ratings system, which began with Nursing Home Compare in late 2008. CMS plans to extend the rating system to hospitals and home-care providers later this year.
Dive Insight:
As with any new rating system, there is always some angst from providers that has to be weighed against the need for transparency and quality improvement. Dialysis providers have had the chance to see their ratings, and many have been unhappy with the results.
Kidney Care Partners, a coalition of dialysis organizations including DaVita HealthCare Partners and Fresenius Medical Care, said the rating system is like comparing apples and oranges in a recent article in Modern Healthcare. A spokesperson for the group said it will make good organizations look like poor performers and "patients will have no idea what they are looking at." MedPac also raised concerns about the system, saying the measurements conflict with other programs, with centers possibly scoring high on one set of metrics and low on another.
Another question is what this means for the roll-out of the ratings in other care environments. A CMS spokesperson said the agency is examining release dates for all care locations (including hospitals) to ensure it has provided adequate time for feedback and education, but according to the American Hospital Association, hospitals have not been given a firm timeline. This delay creates further uncertainty. Stay tuned.