Timely Initiation of Care for Home Health Services

Identifying Attributes

Care Settings
Care Transitions
Country
United States of America
Publishing Organisation
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and Physician Consortium for Performance Improvement Foundation: Care Coordination Project
Type of Quality Indicator
Process
IOM Quality Dimension
Timeliness
Setting-Specific Domain
Access / Waiting Times

Defining Attributes

Definition

Percentage of home health episodes of care in which the start or resumption of care date was either on the physician-specified date or within 2 days of the referral date or inpatient discharge date, whichever is later.

Numerator

Number of home health episodes of care in which the start or resumption of care date was either on the physician-specified date or within 2 days of the referral date or inpatient discharge date, whichever is later.

Denominator

Number of home health episodes of care ending during the data collection period other than those covered by generic or measure-specific denominator exclusions.

Exclusions

None

Use of Risk Adjustment
No
Risk Adjustments

None

Stratifications

None

Collection and Reporting Attributes

Type of Data Collection
Electronic/paper chart records
Data Collection Methods

Electronic Health Records: Electronic Health Records

Frequency of Data Collection
Frequency of Data Collection in Days
Reporting Methods

Measure Retired and Endorsement Removed

Reporting Frequency
Reporting Frequency in Days
Indicator Has Recommended Targets
No

Source and Reference Attributes

Technical Specifications
Link to Measurement Tools
Domain
Not Assigned
Quality Indicator Confirmed to be Part of a Program Used to Monitor Quality and Safety of Care Among Older People at a Population-Level between 2012-2022
No
Assessed by the Australian Consortium for Aged Care Collaborators as Generally Containing Good Properties (Importance and Scientific Acceptability)
No
Australian Consortium for Aged Care Endorsed
No
Can the Quality Indicator be Readily Implemented at a Population Level in Australia Given its Current Data Landscape?
Implementation of this quality indicator was not assessed.
Identified by PHARMA-Care Project
No
Upload Date
23 July 2025