Have you sought information for yourself or your aging parents about a nursing home?

The government has just created a new rating system for nursing homes across America. The purpose is to improve the quality of care that residents will receive and to better inform you, the inquiring public.

Many changes are taking place within this rating system. Here are a few improvements to look forward to:

– Reporting staffing levels quarterly by using a new electronic system that will report payroll data.
– Nationwide auditing program to check the accuracy of nursing homes’ statistics.
– Monitoring nursing homes usage of antipsychotic drugs

The government has concerns that many will see this change in the rating system as a concern because the star rating of nursing homes may initially drop, leaving many to think the quality of care has declined. They have plans to post an explanation for the reason why nursing home ratings may decline on the consumer websites.

Have you had trouble getting accurate information currently? Do you think this new rating system will improve the quality of care that residents receive? Please leave a comment below or post your thoughts on our new forum page.

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/13/business/government-will-change-how-it-rates-nursing-homes.html?emc=edit_tnt_20150212&nlid=65685330&tntemail0=y