State Unveils New and Improved Quality Reporting Website for Maryland Healthcare Consumers
*The following information is provided by guest blogger Sametria McCammon on behalf of the Maryland Healthcare Commission Center for Quality Measurement and Reporting.
What Is The Maryland Quality Reporting Website?
The Maryland Quality Reporting website is a convenient, trusted source of information on the quality and performance of long-term care facilities (e.g., nursing homes, hospices, home health agencies, assisted living facilities, and adult medical daycares), hospitals, and outpatient surgery centers in Maryland.
The website also provides consumers with information illustrating health disparities and current initiatives to address them.
Why Is This Site Useful?
The website is a starting place for Maryland consumers; empowering you to confidently find and select care facilities of the highest quality and that meet your unique health care needs. The site supports the Commission’s efforts to increase accountability of health care providers and facilities across the state.
The website can also help ease the burden many feel when planning for long-term care. Whether you need to find an assisted living facility to maintain your independence, find a nursing home for a short stay after a medical emergency, or need an adult day care to help you care for a loved one while you work, the website can help you with that search.
How Do I Start My Search?
The home page is the starting point for your search, allowing you to select facility types of interest or you can type search terms in the main search bar. The home page also features several quick links to important health care and quality information, such as:
[] The prices of health care services at adult day care, assisted living facilities, and hospitals
[] How to file a complaint
[] Where to find health insurance
[] An advance directives fact sheet where you can learn what an advance directive is, why it’s important, and where you can go online to create your own.
Reducing Stress in Long-Term Care Planning
The website features many resources for Marylanders searching for long-term care such as:
[] Detailed information on patient satisfaction ratings and quality and performance ratings from state and federal resources for nursing homes, assisted living facilities, hospices, and home health agencies. Here, you can search for a facility:
- By your location
- Based on a particular facility you already have in mind
- By the type of service(s) you need.
[] A list of all licensed adult medical day care facilities in Maryland and their contact information.
[] A compare feature that allows you to select your 5 favorite facilities and easily compare them to help you make the best choices possible.
Want to Take a Deeper Dive Beyond Quality and Cost Information?
In addition to facility quality and cost information, you can also click on the “Additional Resources” button in the upper left-hand corner of the home page. Here, you can find planning guides and fact sheets organized by the type of facility. Long-term care guides provide more detailed information. Fact sheets are shorter than planning guides and offer “snapshots” of information about a specific topic, and checklists help you evaluate facilities that you visit or help you assess your home’s readiness as you age.
Click on any of the long-term care facility types to access information on general long-term care planning.
Long-term care guides:
[] Preparing for Long-Term Care
[] Home and Community Resources Guide
[] Assistance Programs Resource Sheet
[] Alternative Living Options
Fact sheets:
[] Assisted Living Fact Sheet
[] Home Health Fact Sheet
[] Health Care Worker Flu Vaccination Fact Sheet (for Assisted Living Facilities and Nursing Homes)
[] Hospice Fact Sheet
[] Medicare Fact Sheet
[] Nursing Home Fact Sheet
Checklists:
[] Home Safety Assessment
[] Choosing a Home Health Agency
[] Choosing an Assisted Living Facility
[] Choosing a Hospice
[] Choosing a Nursing Home-Immediate Need
[] Choosing a Nursing Home
Not Quite What You Need…
If you require additional assistance, you can click on “Additional Resources” and choose “Other Websites.” This page will provide you with additional state and federal websites such as Maryland Access Point, the Maryland Insurance Administration, and the Office of Health Care Quality.
We Are Here to Help, Contact Us!
Please don’t hesitate to contact us at mhcc.qualityteam@maryland.gov or 1-877-245-1762 if you have questions or require additional assistance.
Maryland Health Care Commission
The Maryland Health Care Commission is an independent regulatory agency whose mission is to plan for health system needs, promote informed decision-making, increase accountability, and improve access in a rapidly changing health care environment by providing timely and accurate information on availability, cost, and quality of services to policy makers, purchasers, providers, and the public.
The Maryland Health Care Commission regulates five facility types that are considered long-term care: nursing homes, assisted living facilities, hospices, home health agencies, and adult medical day cares.
