PointRight Launches Survey Insights® to Guide Skilled Nursing Facilities To Improved Survey Results

LEXINGTON, Mass., Oct. 9, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- PointRight Inc., the leader in data-driven analytics in the healthcare and insurance industries, announces the launch of Survey Insights®, an analytics-driven tool that skilled nursing facilities (SNFs) can use to provide focused direction in preparation for state Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services' (CMS) surveys. Using Survey Insights guides operators in strategic, efficient planning for state surveyors, which ultimately results in improved quality, reduced insurance risk, and added defensibility of citations and potential decertification.

"Skilled nursing facilities are highly regulated and although the regulations are not new, recent developments have made the outcomes of these quality surveys more visible and meaningful outside of the facility," said Mary Chmielowiec, PointRight's Executive Vice President, Insurance. "Referrers, the community, insurers and legal counsel all need to see how a skilled nursing facility performs and addresses its known issues. Survey Insights makes it easy and puts the most important information at an operator's or insurer's disposal to guide actions and survey preparation."

Survey Insights captures the most important alerts and performance challenges based on Certification and Survey Provider Enhanced Reports (CASPER) data in a convenient summary that also provides comparisons with other facilities in a survey district and in the state. The service includes an easy-to-use checklist of recommended steps necessary to improve upon each alert and potential deficiency as well as a list of best practices aimed at current areas of focus for surveyors.

Since CMS started the Nursing Home Compare website, many national publications like US News and World Report have started to publish ratings based on the results of CMS state quality surveys. Every Medicare certified nursing home receives a state survey every 9 to 15 months. These surveys are unannounced and nursing homes are rigorously inspected based on guidelines set forth by the federal government and carried out by the states. Summaries of the results of state surveys are publically accessible and are used by consumers, hospital and physician referrers, insurers and other interested parties such as investors and legal counsel.

"Community reputation is so important, but survey success is not easy. PointRight wanted to make the process more strategic and provide facilities with professional guidance without needing to hire more extensive consulting services when the performance concerns can be self-addressed with the right information," Chmielowiec added. "Some facilities in special focus status and facing decertification will still need hands-on professional guidance for improvements, but Survey Insights can help both consultants and operators make sure the right issues are top of mind to decrease deficiencies and improve quality care for the residents in their care."

PointRight's Survey Insights is available for skilled nursing facilities, insurers and legal professionals supporting the industry.

About PointRight Inc.
PointRight is the industry leader in providing data-driven analytics and Web-based tools that measure risk, quality of care, rehospitalization, compliance and reimbursement accuracy of the healthcare and insurance industries. Using some of the largest and best databases in the industry, our nationally recognized clinical staff, researchers, and technologists expertly translate disparate data into usable information and insight. For more information, visit www.pointright.com.  

SOURCE PointRight Inc.