Information & Quality Healthcare

Medicare and the New Health Law--What it Means for You

The Affordable Care Act passed by Congress and signed by President Obama this year will provide you and your family greater savings and increased quality health care. It will also ensure accountability throughout the health care system so that you, your family, and your doctor - not insurance companies - have greater control over your care.

NIH SeniorHealth

Medicare Information for Caregivers Now Available on NIHSeniorHealth

If you’re caring for an older friend or family member, you’ve probably had questions about Medicare, the federal health insurance program for adults 65 and older and people under age 65 with disabilities. While you may know that Medicare helps pay for medical and prescription drug costs, you may want to become more familiar with the Medicare benefits and resources available to your friend or loved one. An easy-to-read overview, "Medicare Basics for Caregivers," is now available at www.NIHSeniorHealth.gov, the Web site for older adults from the National Institutes of Health. This brief, yet comprehensive introduction to Medicare gives caregivers the basics and helps them find answers to their questions.

5 Star Nursing Home Ratings

CMS Issues Historic Star Quality Rating System for Nursing Homes

Next Step in Evolution of Nursing Home Compare Web Site

For the first time in history, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) today released quality ratings for each of the nation’s 15,800 nursing homes that participate in Medicare or Medicaid.

Facilities are assigned star ratings from a low of one star to a high of five stars based on health inspection surveys, staffing information, and quality of care measures. The ratings are publicly available on the agency’s Nursing Home Compare Web site at www.medicare.gov.

Mississippi Coastal Health Information Exchange (MSCHIE)

Dr. James S. McIlwain, President of Information & Quality Healthcare, co-chairs the Mississippi Health Information Technology Infrastructure Task Force. After Hurricane Katrina destroyed the medical records of thousands of evacuees, the state of Mississippi

decided to create networked electronic records. The Mississippi Coastal Health Information Exchange (MSCHIE) was established to restore the medical information system within the area of our state most devastated by Hurricane Katrina. Because of this restoration effort, medical records will now be stored and exchanged between providers electronically as opposed to using an out-dated paper-based system which is vulnerable to natural disasters such as hurricanes. The six coastal counties of Pearl River, Stone, George, Hancock, Harrison, and Jackson that were devastated by Hurricane Katrina are the focus of the health information exchange. Click here to read the article published by Health Management Technology.

Nursing Home Compare Five-Star Quality Rating System: Technical User Guide

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has enhanced its Nursing Home Compare public reporting site to include a set of quality ratings for each nursing home that participates in Medicare or Medicaid. The ratings take the form of several “star” ratings for each nursing home. The primary goal in launching this rating system is to provide residents and their families with an easy way to understand assessment of nursing home quality, making meaningful distinctions between high and low performing nursing homes.

CMS has produced a document that provides a comprehensive description for the Nursing Home Compare Five-Star Rating System.

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