MassachusettsBlack Quality Measures Compared to Achievable Benchmarks

The NHQDR quality measures specific to Black are compared to achievable benchmarks, which are derived from the top-performing States. Better performance of a State can mean higher or lower values of a measure, depending on the desired outcome. For example, low values are desirable for measures such as infant mortality, whereas high values are desirable for measures such as preventative screening. The categories of achievement have been standardized across the measure definitions so that:

Measures That Achieved Benchmark or Better

Measure	Population	Estimate	Benchmark	Distance to Benchmark
Adults who had a doctor's office or clinic visit in the last 12 months whose health providers sometimes or never showed respect for what they had to say, Medicare fee-for-service	Black	0.0	2.4	Achieved: 100% better
Long-stay nursing home residents with a urinary tract infection	Black	2.2	3.3	Achieved: 33% better
Adults who reported that home health providers talked with them about when to take medicines in the last 2 months of care	Black	37.7	33.9	Achieved: 11% better
Long-stay nursing home residents with too much weight loss	Black	4.9	5.4	Achieved: 8% better
Long-stay nursing home residents with moderate to severe pain	Black	4.3	4.7	Achieved: 8% better
Adults home health patients age 18 and over who reported that home health providers talked with them about the side effects of medicines in the last 2 months of care	Black	31.8	29.5	Achieved: 8% better
Home health care patients whose management of oral medications improved	Black	69.6	66.0	Achieved: 5% better
Adults who reported a home health provider asking to see all the prescription and over-the-counter medicines they were taking, when they first started getting home health care	Black	88.6	85.5	Achieved: 4% better
Adults who reported that home health providers talked with them about the purpose for taking their new or changed prescription medicines in the last 2 months of care	Black	36.3	35.9	Achieved: 1% better
Adults who received a blood cholesterol measurement in the last 5 years	Black	83.0	82.3	Achieved: 1% better
Short-stay home health patients who had diabetic foot care and patient education	Black	98.9	98.6	-0.3%
Home health care patients whose pain when moving around decreased	Black	73.1	73.8	0.9%
Home health care patients whose ability to get in and out of bed improved	Black	69.3	70.3	1.4%
Home health care patients whose ability to walk or move around improved	Black	70.5	71.5	1.4%
Adults ages 18-64 at high risk (e.g., COPD) who received an influenza vaccination in the last flu season	Black	47.1	47.8	1.4%
Adults who reported a home health provider talking with them about all the prescription and over-the-counter medicines they were taking when they first started getting home health care	Black	86.9	88.2	1.5%
Adults who reported getting the help or advice they needed when they contacted their home health providers in the last 2 months of care	Black	29.6	30.4	2.7%
Adults who did not have any problem with the care they received from their home health providers in the last 2 months of care	Black	91.2	94.0	3.0%
Adults who reported that home health providers always seem informed and up-to-date about all the cares or treatments they got at home in the last 2 months of care	Black	65.5	67.6	3.1%
Home health care patients whose bathing improved	Black	72.4	75.4	3.9%
Adults who reported that home health providers always treated them as gently as possible in the last 2 months of care	Black	87.8	92.5	5.1%
Adults who reported that home health providers always treated them with courtesy and respect in the last 2 months of care	Black	89.9	95.0	5.4%
Adults who reported that home health providers always explained things in a way that was easy to understand in the last 2 months of care	Black	82.1	86.8	5.4%
Adults who reported that home health providers always listen carefully to them in the last 2 months of care	Black	83.2	87.9	5.4%
Adults who reported being told what care and services they would get when they first started getting home health care	Black	85.7	91.3	6.2%
Short-stay nursing home patients who had flu vaccination appropriately given	Black	87.0	92.9	6.4%
Home health care patients whose shortness of breath decreased	Black	71.9	77.0	6.7%
Long-stay nursing home patients who were assessed and appropriately given the seasonal influenza vaccine	Black	87.7	94.1	6.8%
Adults who reported that home health providers talk about pain in the last 2 months of care	Black	85.0	91.2	6.8%
Home health patients who had improvement in upper body dressing	Black	71.5	77.4	7.6%
Adults who reported a home health provider talking with them about how to set up their home so they can move around safely when they first started getting home health care	Black	73.2	80.1	8.6%
Home health patients who had influenza vaccination during flu season	Black	77.1	84.8	9.1%
Long-stay nursing home residents who were assessed for pneumococcal vaccination	Black	89.0	98.0	9.2%
Adults who reported that home health providers always kept them informed about when they would arrive at their home in the last 2 months of care	Black	75.3	83.3	9.6%

Measures That Are Close to Benchmark

Measure	Population	Estimate	Benchmark	Distance to Benchmark
Low-risk, long-stay nursing home residents with a catheter inserted and left in the bladder	Black	2.8	2.5	10.6%
Short-stay nursing home residents who were assessed for pneumococcal vaccination	Black	84.7	95.3	11.1%
Long-stay nursing home residents have depressive symptoms	Black	1.3	1.1	12.2%
Home health care patients whose surgical wound was improved	Black	91.1	80.3	13.4%
Adults ages 18-64 at high risk (e.g., COPD) who ever received pneumococcal vaccination	Black	38.2	44.8	14.8%
Adults who reported getting the help or advice they needed the same day they contacted their home health providers	Black	19.8	23.8	16.9%
Home health care patients who stayed at home after an episode of home health care	Black	64.0	77.5	17.4%
Adult hospital patients who sometimes or never had good communication about medications they received in the hospital	Black	9.2	7.8	18.6%
Home health patients who had pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccination	Black	66.4	86.1	22.9%
Long-stay nursing home residents whose ability to move independently worsened	Black	17.4	13.7	26.6%
Adults age 65 and over who ever received pneumococcal vaccination	Black	57.1	78.7	27.5%
Adult hospital patients who did not receive good communication about discharge information	Black	9.9	7.7	28.2%
Adults age 65 and over who received an influenza vaccination in the last flu season	Black	48.7	70.3	30.7%
Adults age 40 and over with diagnosed diabetes who received a flu vaccination in the calendar year	Black	40.9	65.8	37.9%
Adults who had a doctor's office or clinic visit in the last 12 months whose health providers sometimes or never spent enough time with them, Medicare managed care	Black	3.9	2.8	40.7%
Long-stay nursing home residents whose need for help with daily activities increased	Black	15.1	10.6	42.2%

Measures That Are Far From Benchmark

Measure	Population	Estimate	Benchmark	Distance to Benchmark
High-risk, long-stay nursing home patients with pressure ulcer	Black	5.2	3.4	53.2%
Home health care patients who had an emergency department visit without a hospitalization	Black	4.4	2.9	54.7%
Short-stay nursing home residents with moderate to severe pain	Black	17.5	10.8	61.7%
Adults who had an appointment for routine health care in the last 12 months who sometimes or never got an appointments for routine care as soon as wanted, Medicare managed care	Black	14.3	8.3	73.4%
Home health care patients who had to be admitted to the hospital	Black	31.7	17.7	78.7%
Adults who had a doctor´s office or clinic visit in the last 12 months who sometimes or never got advice to quit smoking from provider, Medicare managed care	Black	50.7	27.7	82.9%
Rating of health care 0-6 on a scale from 0 (worst grade) to 10 (best grade) by adults who had a doctor´s office or clinic visit in the last 12 months, Medicare managed care	Black	13.2	7.2	84.2%
Short-stay nursing home patients with pressure ulcers that are new or worsened	Black	0.5	0.3	85.7%
Adults who needed to see a specialist in the last 12 months who sometimes or never found it easy to see a specialist, Medicare managed care	Black	12.0	6.4	88.3%
Home health care patients who had an emergency department visit and then hospitalized	Black	25.6	13.5	89.1%
Adult hospital patients who strongly disagree or disagree that staff took their preferences and those of their family and caregiver into account when deciding what the patients discharge health care would be	Black	6.6	3.2	103.7%
Adults who had a doctor's office or clinic visit in the last 12 months and needed care, tests, or treatment who sometimes or never found it easy to get the care, tests, or treatment, Medicare managed care	Black	14.2	4.9	190.0%
Low-risk, long-stay nursing home residents with loss of control of bowels or bladder	Black	52.2	16.7	212.6%

Measures With No Available Benchmark Information or Supplemental Measures

Measure	Population	Estimate	Benchmark	Distance to Benchmark
Short-stay home health patients who had drug education on all medications	Black	98.1
People who needed to see a doctor but could not because of cost in the past 12 months	Black	14.9
Adult hospital patients who always had good communication with nurses in the hospital	Black	81.9
Adult hospital patients who always had good communication with doctors in the hospital	Black	83.9
Adult hospital patients who strongly agree that they understood the purpose for taking each of their medications after discharge	Black	57.2
Adult hospital patients who strongly agree that they understood how to manage their health after discharge	Black	55.2