OIG and HCCA Issue Government-Industry Roundtable Report

Driving For Quality in Long-Term Care: A Board of Directors Dashboard

In a report released today, the Office of Inspector General (OIG) for the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Health Care Compliance Association (HCCA) present the challenges and opportunities for the boards of directors of long-term care organizations in using a “Quality of Care Dashboard.” A Quality of Care Dashboard is a management tool that may provide a way to assess and oversee performance on quality-of-care issues.

“Our roundtable discussions shed new light on how the Government and long-term care industry can work together to protect the integrity of the long-term care system and improve the quality of care provided to Federal health care program beneficiaries,” said HHS Inspector General Daniel R. Levinson. “Given the constructive exchange of ideas, OIG is considering additional opportunities for Government-industry dialogue on quality of care issues.”

OIG and HCCA cosponsored a Government-industry roundtable in December for representatives from the long-term care industry to share experiences and inform OIG and HCCA of issues surrounding boards of directors’ oversight of quality of care.

“This is our 5th roundtable partnership with the OIG and it may be one of the most meaningful we have had,” said HCCA Chief Executive Officer Roy Snell. “It has been another great opportunity for industry and the enforcement community to work together to help improve our compliance systems and procedures.”

The roundtable focused its discussions with four breakout sessions that covered:

• commitment to quality
• processes related to monitoring and improving quality of care
• outcome measures for quality of care
• challenges and opportunities in using a Quality of Care Dashboard

The roundtable report is available on the OIG Web site at http://www.oig.hhs.gov/fraud/docs/complianceguidance/Roundtable013007.pdf