 | The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA |
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| The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA |
Lisa Payne Simon, MPH, California Health Care Foundation, 476 Ninth Street, Oakland, CA 94067, 510-238-1040, lpsimon@chcf.org, Janis O'Meara, MPA, Social and Behavioral, UCSF, 3333 California St., Suite 455, San Francisco, CA 94118, John F. Schnelle, PhD, UCLA, 7150 Tampa Ave./JHA, Borun Center, Reseda, CA 91335, and Charlene Harrington, PhD, Department of Social & Behavioral Sciences, University of California San Francisco, 3333 California St, Suite 455, San Francisco, CA 94143-0612.
The California HealthCare Foundation developed a comprehensive nursing home consumer information system for the Internet that was launched in October 2002. This system (www.calnhs.org) includes public data from nine federal and state sources on: facility characteristics; ownership; resident characteristics; staffing; quality performance indicators; complaints, deficiencies, and enforcement actions; and financial indicators. The system rates facilities on 10 indicators using a star system and provides extensive information about the indicators, selecting a facility, filing complaints, alternatives to nursing homes and other information. The staffing data and quality performance indicators were validated in a study of 34 facilities and only the most valid indicators were placed on the website. The website, guided by an advisory panel of all the major stakeholders, was targeted to a broad range of stakeholders. The initial newspaper, TV and radio coverage was extensive and resulted in millions of hits on the website, editorials in 6 papers, and a Governor’s long term care consumer initiative. Initial responses from consumers, advocacy organizations, unions, and legislators were positive, but mixed responses were reported by providers. Participants should be able to: identify key components of the nursing home consumer information system and its validation effort, and understand efforts to target and disseminate the information to key stakeholders.
Learning Objectives:
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.