What causes nursing facilities quality indicators to vary so much between different homes?
Many factors can affect the quality indicator numbers. For instance, we have a specialized dementia unit at our facility; therefore, it should be expected that our psychotropic drug use would be higher than facilities that don’t specialize in Alzheimer’s and dementia care. Also, facilities with specialized dementia units have a higher number of end stage Alzheimer’s and Dementia care residents. This can show higher numbers of restraints because of the behavioral problems and increased fall and injury risk due to the behavioral problems. These are just two examples of why quality indicators may vary between facilities. There are many other factors to consider based on the type of residents that facilities care for with one of the biggest factors being the accuracy of the assessments that are filled out and sent in to the state where the data is collected.
