Technical information about the infection quality measure.

September 20, 2009 by admin

The Minimum Data Set (MDS) is a set of data collection tools used by nursing homes to assess their residents. Nursing home residents should get a full assessment annually, and briefer assessments quarterly (every 3 months). For quarterly assessments, States have the option to use one of four forms. Three of these forms collect data on multiple infections (pneumonia, respiratory infections, septicemia, wound infections, hepatitis, and urinary tract infections), which are all used to calculate the quality measure. However the fourth form (called a "2-page quarterly") collects quarterly data on urinary tract infections (UTIs) only. For the states that use this "2-page quarterly" form, the measure is mostly a "UTI measure", but also includes data on those other infections from the resident's most recent annual assessment. Because of this, this measure is useful in comparing facilities within one state or with other states that use similar forms. Comparing two facilities in two different states that use different forms will not provide an accurate comparison for this quality measure and this is why we do not provide a "national" average for this quality measure. The 19 states/territories using the 2-page quarterly are: Alaska, Alabama, California, Connecticut, District of Columbia, Delaware, Hawaii, Massachusetts, Maryland, Michigan, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Wisconsin, Wyoming, and the Virgin Islands. Infection is a common condition found in elderly patients whose ability to fight infection is compromised by age. It can be related to diseases like Diabetes which predominately affects individuals over the age of 65 years, and because of this, it is important to prevent and treat infections in nursing home residents.