Frequently Asked Question of the Month:
What types of quality measures are used in the Home Health Quality Reporting Program?
The following three categories of quality measures are used in the Home Health Quality Reporting Program (HH QRP):
- Outcome measures
- Process measures; and
- Patient reported outcome measures
Questions about home health quality measures may be sent to HomeHealthQualityQuestions@cms.hhs.gov.
Spotlight on: Process Measures
Process measures evaluate the rate of home health agency use of specific evidence-based processes of care. The HH process measures focus on high-risk, high-volume, problem-prone areas for home health care. These include measures pertaining to all or most home care patients, such as timeliness of home health start of care (SOC) or resumption of care (ROC).
Process measures are derived from data collected in the OASIS submitted by home health agencies and are calculated using a completed quality episode that begins with a home health SOC to a home health agency (or a resumption of care following an inpatient facility stay) and ends with discharge, transfer to inpatient facility or in some cases death.
Unlike the outcome measures, process measures are not risk-adjusted. Risk adjustment is not considered to be necessary for process measures because the processes being measured are appropriate for all patients included in the denominator (patients for whom the measure is not appropriate are excluded).
The Home Health Process Measures include the following:
- Timely Initiation of Care
- Influenza Immunization Received for Current Flu Seasons
- Influenza Immunization Offered and Refused for Current Flu Season
- Influenza Immunization Contraindicated
- Drug Regimen Review Conducted with Follow-Up for Identified Issues
- Transfer of Health Information to the PatientTransfer of Health Information to the Provider
- COVID -19 Vaccine: Patients Who Are up to Date (New in 2025)
For more information about these process measures, please refer to the Home Health Process Measures Table, which can be located via the link to Home Health Measures Tables in the Downloads section found here – https://www.cms.gov/medicare/quality/home-health/home-health-quality-measures. Technical documentation for calculating process measures can be accessed via the link to Technical Documentation of OASIS-Based Measures in the Downloads section.
Symbria is committed to maintaining a high standard and level of communication with our clients and employees regarding clinical education, PDGM understanding, patient assessment, home health regulations, and coding efficiency. As a result, the Home Health Insider was born. In this monthly offering, we hope to provide some valuable information that can foster a quality level of care that meets the needs of the patients that we serve.