On Home Health Compare, what is "risk adjustment"?

September 20, 2009 by admin

"Risk adjustment" is a scientific method of accounting for differences between home health agencies and how sick their patients are (called "case-mix") used to make comparisons between home health agencies more fair. Risk adjustment takes into account all the things that may affect a home health agency's overall patient case mix, such as certain patient characteristics and the agency's admitting practices. This risk adjustment helps to create a level playing field for home health agencies that generally treat patients who are sicker or more dependent.