Nursing Homes Concealed Reports of Falls and Bedsores
How a hospital receives its rating from the government is based on how it is scored. In recent news, corporate woke scores are needed to acquire loans. Bud Light came under from women’s rights groups after running a series of transgender T.V. ads. Target came under fire when they infuriated parents over transgender lifestyle, clothing, apparel, and Satanism being mainstreamed with children. Now, Chick Fil A is under fire for the shoe shine incident.
Although we found nothing about nursing homes, large corporations need this so-called woke CEI score to get loans and stay in business. If a study finds against your nursing home, your score goes down. The U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (created the Five-Star Quality Rating System to assist consumers, their families, and caregivers in comparing nursing homes more easily. It’s called the Quality Measure System (CMS). The Nursing Home Care Compare website incorporates this CMS, which assigns each nursing home a rating ranging from 1 to 5 stars.
The Five-Star Quality Rating System aims to provide individuals with a simple, standardized way to evaluate nursing homes based on specific quality measures. These measures include factors such as health inspections, staffing levels, and quality of care. The ratings help consumers and their families make informed decisions by highlighting areas of potential concern or excellence.
By utilizing the star rating system, individuals can quickly assess the overall quality of a nursing home and compare it to others in their area. A higher star rating generally indicates better performance and quality of care, while a lower rating suggests areas that may warrant further investigation or inquiry.
Star ratings are one aspect to consider when evaluating nursing homes. It is advisable to delve deeper into the specific ratings and associated metrics and visit potential facilities in person to understand the quality of care and services comprehensively.
A low score also makes getting insurance for nursing abuse harder, etc. The latest study reveals that the Nursing Home Care Compare website, established by the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services CMS to provide information on patient safety indicators in nursing homes, contains inaccurate information.
These inaccuracies the US to be influenced by race to some extent. The website relies on self-reported data from nursing homes to track incidents such as falls and bedsores among Medicare residents. However, a new study found that nursing homes are not reporting all of these elder abuse incidents.
Here is the title:
“Underreporting of Quality Measures and Associated Facility Characteristics and Racial Disparities in U.S. Nursing Home Ratings” is the website link. According to the study’s lead researcher, Prachi Sanghavi, about 40% of significant injury fall hospitalizations and 32% of severe wound bedsore hospitalizations identified in Medicare claims data were not reported on the CMS website. This indicates a substantial underreporting of falls and bedsores by nursing homes.
The findings suggest that nursing homes may be concealing or not accurately reporting incidents of falls and bedsores (a tax-subsidized business would lie?). This lack of transparency can seriously affect the safety and well-being of nursing home residents, individuals, and families who rely on the CMS website to help make informed decisions about nursing home care.
Regulatory agencies and policymakers must address these issues and ensure that accurate and reliable data is available to the public. Improved oversight and enforcement mechanisms may be necessary to encourage nursing homes to report incidents truthfully and provide a more comprehensive and transparent picture of the quality of care in these facilities.
“It’s not just slightly inaccurate. It’s actually very inaccurate,” said Doctor Sanghavi.
The study conducted by Sanghavi and her colleagues also revealed a concerning pattern related to the racial composition of nursing homes. They found that the underreporting of incidents varied based on the racial makeup of the nursing homes.
Nursing homes with a higher proportion of white residents had higher reporting rates for significant injury falls but lower reporting rates for pressure ulcers (bedsores). On the other hand, nursing homes with a higher proportion of Black residents showed the opposite pattern, with lower reporting rates for significant injury falls and higher reporting rates for pressure ulcers.
This racial disparity in reporting rates raises serious concerns about equity and the quality of care provided in nursing homes. It suggests that there may be underlying systemic issues, such as biases or disparities in how incidents are identified, documented, or reported based on the racial composition of the residents.
The findings highlight the need to investigate these disparities further and address potential biases in the U.S. nursing home reporting process. Ensuring that all residents, regardless of race, receive equal attention and that accurate and comprehensive data is available to inform decision-making about nursing home care is crucial. Additionally, efforts should be made to promote cultural sensitivity, eliminate racial disparities, and improve nursing homes’ overall quality of care.
“As you probably know, nursing homes in the U.S. are fairly segregated,” Sanghavi said without providing any evidence other than this opinion. We are still trying to find studies showing that nursing homes are racially segregated.
But the doctor says:
“Nursing homes with more white residents have more falls and report falls more accurately, and don’t report pressure ulcers as accurately. And the opposite happens with nursing homes that have more Black residents.” Of course, her opinion fails to mention that black people make up less than 14% of the U.S. population, so naturally, there are more white residents in ALL nursing homes.
Also, the study fails to identify any nursing care hospitals with “more Black residents” or. There are cases where sometimes there is a higher percentage of black residents than white residents. Here, the study presumes a race-based motive.
The response of the American Health Care Association/National Center for Assisted Living (AHCA/NCAL) to the new report is a critical perspective to consider. As the largest association representing long-term care providers in the United States, their input carries weight in discussions about nursing homes and the quality of care provided.
While the university and the exact nature of their exception to the report are not specified, it is common for industry associations to defend their members and challenge research findings that may negatively impact their practices. They may dispute the methodology used in the study, question the validity of the data, or raise concerns about potential biases in the analysis.
In such situations, it is crucial to encourage open dialogue between researchers, industry representatives, and regulatory bodies to understand the issues better and work toward meaningful solutions. It is in all stakeholders’ best interests, including residents and their families, to ensure transparency, accountability, and high-quality care in assisted living facilities.
A constructive conversation and collaboration among all parties involved can improve the reporting process, the quality of care provided, and the overall well-being of nursing home residents.
In any event, there are three sides:
- Doctors receiving grants from politically or commercially biased organizations
- Highly political nursing home industrial complex, which I distrust.
- Consumer attorneys like me sue both of the above for abusing the rights of children, parents, and elders in pursuit of tax-funded surgeries and medicines (often, they receive a royalty from the government-licensed drug cartels.)
Group Three Above proclaims that:
“Nursing homes are committed to accurate reporting of quality measures, and this flawed study does not represent what’s happening today. Additionally, nursing homes have made dramatic improvements on all quality measures over the past decade and continue to focus on improving the quality of life for our residents,” according to the AHCA/NCAL’s responsive statement.
Nursing Home Abuse. Does Race Play a Role?
Based on this study, there is not enough accurate data to declare racism or race, in general, played any role in any underreporting. It just looks like a lot of hype in the press that seems to do anything it can do to keep the boogeyman of racism alive.
Group Three states:
“Throughout health care, including long-term care, we all need to address racial and ethnic disparities. A key step policymakers can take is addressing chronic, inadequate funding on Medicaid — a program a disproportionate portion of minority nursing home residents rely on,” reads the AHCA/NCAL statement.
In the study, the researchers directly compared the data from the CMS Nursing Home Care Compare website and the claims that hospitals filed with Medicare to seek reimbursement for the treatment of falls or bedsores. Some homes had a more significant percentage of white residents, and others had a lower rate.
Homes With Higher Percentage of Blacks and Underreporting
In every underreporting issue, the white race has the highest percentage of residents in each facility. The study assessed the accuracy and completeness of the self-reported data provided by assisted living facilities. However, there is no indication of how it supports the conclusion that a higher percentage of black residents than white at these facilities is related to underreporting as opposed to different health conditions in a particular subject or class.
By comparing the CMS data with the Medicare claims data, the researchers could allegedly identify discrepancies and underreporting of falls and bedsores. The claims data serve as an independent and objective source of information, offering a different perspective on the incidence and severity of these incidents compared to the self-reported data from nursing homes.
Medicare Patients and Gaps in Data
According to the doctor and his team, this methodology strengthens the validity of the study findings, as it provides a more comprehensive and accurate assessment of the actual occurrence and impact of nursing home falls and bedsores among Medicare residents in assisted living facilities. It suggests there may be significant gaps in the self-reported data on the CMS website (Nursing Home Compare Database), indicating a need for improvement in reporting practices and transparency within the nursing home industry and medical professionals.
“We have a case where we know an individual was discharged from a nursing home and went to a hospital. The hospitalization was for the conditions we’re looking at, so falls or pressure ulcers. And then we see that the next year the person is discharged from the hospital and returns to the same nursing home they first came from,” Sanghavi says.
“And so we have this chain put together where we can say, OK, did the nursing homes report that or not?” the doctor continued.
The study’s findings indicate a concerning pattern of underreporting that varies depending on the racial composition of nursing homes. The higher reporting rates for significant injury falls and lower reporting rates for pressure ulcers among nursing homes with a higher proportion of white residents, as well as the opposite pattern for nursing homes with a higher proportion of Black residents, raise important questions about potential racial disparities and biases in reporting practices.
This pattern suggests that underlying systemic issues may influence how incidents are identified, documented, and reported based on the racial makeup of the resident population. Addressing these disparities and biases is crucial to ensure equitable care and promote transparency within the nursing home industry.
Further research and investigation are needed to understand better the factors contributing to this pattern and develop appropriate interventions to address systemic issues. By improving reporting practices and ensuring consistency and fairness, it is possible to work towards providing high-quality care to all residents, regardless of their race or the racial composition of the nursing homes they reside in.
“On average, nursing homes with higher fall reporting rates have lower pressure ulcer reporting rates,” Sanghavi said. “The better you report on falls, the worse you report on pressure ulcers.”
Interestingly, the researchers observed a discrepancy between the reporting rates for falls and bedsores in nursing homes. The researchers expected that nursing homes with higher reporting rates for falls would also exhibit higher reporting rates for bedsores, but this was not the case.
The unexpected pattern raises questions about the factors influencing reporting practices in nursing homes and the potential complexities involved in accurately documenting injuries and writing about different types of incidents. It suggests that there may be unique challenges or
“We found that in nursing homes, race mix matters for understanding what’s happening,” Sanghavi said.
The study revealed apparent differences in the hospitalization numbers for actual events occurring to white and Black nursing home residents. By examining hospitalization data, the researchers identified significant disparities in circumstances, such as falls and bedsores, between these two racial groups.
“White residents have twice the fall rate of Black residents. And for pressure ulcers, the Black residents have almost twice the rate as white residents,” said Sanghavi
“So, the actual hospitalizations for the two events are defined by race.”
Of course, the researchers speculated that “institutional racism” might lead nursing homes to treat residents differently if they are Black or white. How can they assume it’s racism when whites fall more, and in other cases, blacks have more pressure sores (high blood pressure) and ulcers and pressure sores that can restrict blood flow? How does this confound so many critical thinkers? These can present severe bedsores and resulting serious infections in patients with limited mobility or restricted to a wheelchair. And the disease and other complications can quickly progress if left untreated at this stage. If you or your loved one sees this, it is usually due to them remaining in a single position too long. So a facility with sufficient resources is the first step to avoid becoming infected.
Underreporting paints an incomplete picture.
“For example, facilities with more white residents may minimize the use of restraints, facilitate mobility, and provide regular repositioning, all of which could increase the risk of major injury falls while reducing the infection rate of pressure ulcers,” said the research team.
Black Nursing Home Residents Have Different Health Issues than Whites?
Of course, there are genetic differences, and it’s also possible that health disparities between the races could be these differences that Millenial researchers are hard-wired to assign as “racism.” In this research community, it will automatically be assumed that non-white people are victims and everyone else is oppressed in the stages of complications. However, could it be there are health issues that play a role? Perhaps the researchers are claiming fast food and poor diet are racist. The study is unclear where nursing home neglect accounts for genetics and cultural differences leading to complications from the stages of nursing home bedsores.
“For example, Black residents are more frequently diagnosed with obesity, a risk factor for pressure ulcers,” according to Sanghavi.
The findings were reported online on May 23 in JAMA Network Open
The inaccurate and absent reports showing falls and bed bedsores:
“hinders people’s ability to assess whether or not a nursing home is a good fit for them,” according to Gretchen Jacobson, the vice president of The Commonwealth Fund, a Medicare healthcare think-tank.
“If you don’t have that data, and especially if you’re missing pieces of information, how can you be expected to make an informed decision?” said Jacobson.
“It’s also worth noting that once people enter a nursing home, it’s not a simple task to change nursing homes,” Said Jacobson, who said: “So, really having all the information at that time is just critical.”
According to Prachi Sanghavi, the study’s lead researcher, the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) appears to have quietly acknowledged the issue of underreporting in nursing homes. Sanghavi mentioned that CMS had given less weight to the self-reported quality measures, including incidents like falls and bedsores, compared to other stages of data when calculating the overall rating of elder facilities on the Nursing Home Compare website.
“The problem is that they’re still on the website,” according to Sanghavi. “The quality measures, because they’re posted there, have this legitimacy because the federal government backs them.”
She said the CMS website could change its methodology to something similar to her team’s approach, in which hospitalization claims data would be factored into a nursing home’s rating. A higher score means less potential exposure for nursing home abuse claims. Most insurers can use this as an excuse to raise insurance premiums to cover wrongful death from falls or dead tissue from pressure sores and their various stages and causes.
Insurance actuaries will look at disease control to avoid serious infections and other health problems. Suppose there is a pattern of life-threatening issues, perhaps even caused by assisted living facility staff members or family members. In that case, the insurer can be at risk of paying patients or their loved ones financial compensation.
The World is Watching
So the industry is paying close attention to this latest study covering potential neglect and abuse in long-term residents of care facilities. When bedsores occur, expect race to be one of the issues to accuse nursing home staff and hospitals of ignoring warning signs of such a high-risk decubitus skin ulcer in patients.
“CMS should lean heavily on the claims data that it already owns,” according to Sanghavi.
“They should replace or at the very least supplement the quality measures based on nursing home-reported data with measures from more objective data sources, like Medicare and Medicaid claims from other health care providers who don’t really have an interest in the nursing home rating system.”
No matter what side you are on in the nursing home abuse spectrum, look for studies like this to influence whether a nursing home has the highest CEI score ratings of wokeness among elderly patients. Look for care facilities to find ways to avoid paying claims, and look for elder abuse neglect lawyers like me to challenge everyone in pursuit of the elderly and infirm. Do you know someone who failed to receive proper care or medical treatment due to nursing home neglect or abuse? Suppose you have questions or wish to form an attorney-client relationship. In that case, we are available 24/7 to provide a free case evaluation and see if you qualify for medical care on a lien. Dial (213) 596-9642 today!
