Quality Care
As a consumer, evaluating the quality of care among various hospice providers can be difficult. At AuthoraCare Collective, we are committed to a regular review of our outcomes and a continuous process of quality improvement. We measure our quality outcomes and compare our results against other providers to ensure we are meeting or exceeding industry norms.
AuthoraCare’s Survey Results
CAHPS is a post-death family caregiver survey developed and required by CMS for the assessment of patient and family experiences with hospice care. AuthoraCare Collective uses the CAHPS survey to measure and assess the experiences of its patients. Surveys are sent to primary caregivers three months following the patient’s death and reflect the perceptions of care from the primary caregivers’ point of view.
Deyta is AuthoraCare’s chosen vendor to collect the data and provide results comparisons nationally and at the state level.
The results below represent survey responses collected between October 1, 2016 through March 31, 2017.
| Survey Category | AuthoraCare Burlington Campus | AuthoraCare Greensboro Campus | National | State |
| Would you recommend this hospice to your family and friends? % replying “Definitely Yes” | 91% | 93% | 86% | 92% |
| Rating of patient care from this hospice % rating AuthoraCare “9” or “10” on a 10-point scale | 86% | 93% | 85% | 90% |
| Treating Family Member with Respect Patient was treated with dignity and respect (Always) Hospice team really cared about the patient (Always) | 93% | 95% | 91% | 94% |
| Getting Timely Care Received help during evenings, weekends and holidays (Always) Received help as soon as wanted (Always) | 81% | 82% | 77% | 82% |
| Providing Emotional and Religious Support Amount of emotional support for caregiver (Right Amount) | 91% | 96% | 92% | 94% |
The Center for Medicare and Medicaid
The Center for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) determines quality measures that all hospices must utilize and the processes hospices must use to submit data for those measures. CMS maintains a Hospice Quality Reporting website with information on all aspects of the hospice quality reporting program. We encourage patients and families considering hospice care to be informed and to check the website regularly.
Hospice Item Set
In addition, the Hospice Item Set (HIS) is a patient-level data collection tool developed by CMS. Hospices are required to submit a HIS-Admission record and a HIS-Discharge record for each patient. Information collected through the HIS will be used to calculate hospices’ scores for seven quality measures.
Accreditation Commission for Health Care, Inc.
Accreditation Commission for Health Care, Inc (ACHC) is a third-party, nonprofit organization that has developed the highest national standards for providers to be surveyed against in order to illustrate their ability to effectively and efficiently deliver quality health care products and services to consumers. Accreditation indicates an organization’s commitment to quality and patient safety.
AuthoraCare Collective has been approved for reaccreditation for hospice with a recommendation for continued deemed status. The services approved are hospice care services and hospice inpatient care services. The reaccreditation is effective September 23, 2019 through September 23, 2022. Additionally, AuthoraCare Collective has approved for reaccreditation for home health with a recommendation for continued deemed status. The services approved are home health aide services, medical social services, physical therapy services and skilled nursing services. The accreditation is effective January 1, 2017 through January 1, 2020.
What does it mean for consumers?
We are proud to display the ACHC Gold Seal of accreditation as a token of our commitment to providing the very best hospice services. ACHC accreditation is not easy to attain. Organizations must meet many standards and criteria, covering seven areas of business operations, such as customer service/care management, quality improvement and fiscal management. Accreditation ensures that our patients receive the best service and care possible due to the framework established by the ACHC standards.
This link (https://www.cigna.com/legal/compliance/machine-readable-files) leads to the machine-readable files that are made available in response to the federal Transparency in Coverage Rule and includes negotiated service rates and out-of-network allowed amounts between health plans and healthcare providers. The machine-readable files are formatted to allow researchers, regulators, and application developers to more easily access and analyze data.
Our Commitment to Quality Care
Experience in Care
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