Summary of Interview Content

Attachment IX – Summary of Interview Content (included with recruitment
letter)
National Provider Survey of Home Health Agencies
Summary of Home Health Interview Content
Purpose of Interview
Every three years, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Service (CMS) is required by
law to conduct an assessment of the impact of Medicare’s use of performance
measures. The performance measures evaluate the quality and efficiency of care
provided. Medicare uses these measures in a variety of ways, such as publicly
reporting results on the Medicare Home Health Compare website to help consumers
with choosing providers and, in some cases, paying providers differentially based on
their performance.
As part of this assessment, CMS has asked [CONTRACTOR(s)] to conduct interviews
with home health agency leaders on their organizations’ experiences in reporting and
working to improve performance on CMS quality and efficiency measures.
Interview Content
This interview will focus on how Home Health Quality Reporting Program (HHQRP)
measures have affected the quality and efficiency of care at your home health agency.
A list of these measures is attached.
Interview questions will ask about:
1) The types of changes your organization has made in response to reporting
performance data to Medicare and ways in which these investments may have
impacted your home health agency’s performance on the measures.
2) Any barriers you may have faced in submitting the data or improving
performance on these measures. (For example, have your home health
agency’s information technology resources limited your efforts to report or
improve performance on any of these measures?)
3) Any undesired effects that may have resulted from CMS measurement programs.
(Has improved performance on some measures “spilled over” to create
improvements in other clinical areas, for example, or do you see less
improvement in areas of care where performance is not being measured?)
4) Factors that have helped and/or hindered your home health agency’s efforts to
perform highly on CMS quality and efficiency measures.
According to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, no persons are required to respond
to a collection of information unless it displays a valid OMB control number. The valid
OMB control number for this information collection is 0938-NEW. The time required to
complete this information collection is estimated to average 60 minutes per response,
including the time to review instructions, search existing data resources, gather the data
needed, and complete and review the information collection. If you have comments
concerning the accuracy of the time estimate(s) or suggestions for improving this form,

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please write to: CMS, 7500 Security Boulevard, Attn: PRA Reports Clearance Officer,
Mail Stop C4-26-05, Baltimore, Maryland 21244-1850.

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