Advanced Practice RNs Significantly Improve Quality Measures in Nursing Homes, Study Finds
June 1, 2018 | Aging Services Risk Management
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As part of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Innovations Center's national initiative to reduce avoidable hospitalizations among nursing facility residents, the Missouri Quality Initiative (MOQI) studied the influence of advanced practice registered nurses (APRNs) on care quality. The study embedded full-time APRNs in 16 facilities and found significantly better composite quality measure scores in these sites than in 27 comparison sites over three years, according to a study published in the June 2018 issue of JAMDA. The APRNs participating in the study worked with direct care staff and leadership to improve early illness recognition and improve care delivery systems, which resulted in significantly improved composite quality measure scores (P = 0.025) when compared with those outcomes at nonparticipating facilities.