Advances in Medical Care

In what ways does assuring quality in the long-term care industry pose special challenges to regulators and consumers?

Advances in medical care have made a longer life- span possible. However, despite the advances and as stated in Health Care USA textbook “Given the industries unmet needs and rising demands, future years will continue to be a period of experimentation, innovation and change in the long- term health care system.” With that being said, assuring quality in the long- term care arena is a critical aspect in the future development of long-term care.

Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, also referred to as CMS have derived “Quality Measures”(QMs) based on information facilities provide them with. These Quality Measures have 3 main purposes which include: A 5 star quality rating system used by consumers, helping providers improve quality within their own facilities, and lastly, QM survey process (reviewed on a monthly basis) reviews areas of potential quality concern. CMS’s QM evaluation helps maintain and set a necessary quality standard for improving long-term care and health programs.

Regulators must ensure certification as well as licensure and accreditation requirements are met within long- term centers. The continuum of the QM evaluation and process provides consumers with access to quality measures and helps ease the process of determining which facilities best meet their individual needs and wants with respect to their care. The need for diversification as well as specialization to meet the wide range of patients is not an easy task to accomplish. Quality measure evaluations are a great way in improving quality within long-term care facilities.