Two new websites give consumers information to help them evaluate and compare nursing homes. 

The newer of these two services, called "Nursing Home Compare", was launched November 12 by Medicare on its web site. The other service, the "California Nursing Home Search", came online in October. 

Medicare's "Nursing Home Compare" is an enhanced version of an earlier, more limited service and provides basic information on the nation's 17,000+ nursing homes that accept Medicare and Medicaid patients. The site shows each facility's ranking on 10 quality measures - six of which are related to long-term care and four to short-term stays. Also, the Medicare site furnishes statistics on a nursing home's inspection violations, if any. Consumers can search for all Medicare and Medicaid-approved nursing homes within a city or a county. 

Like the Medicare site, the "California Nursing Home Search" site offers basic information on nursing homes as well as a geographic search feature, but only for nursing homes licensed in the state - including some facilities not found on the Medicare site. Consumers may compare the 1,400+ California nursing homes on a number of quality criteria, including some not available on the Medicare site. 

One quality criterion is particularly significant -- the ratio of staff to patients is an important number. Both sites provide this information, but the California site offers more detail on this measure. The sponsor of the California site, the nonprofit California HealthCare Foundation, released a study in October showing that 44% of the 1,212 California facilities surveyed do not meet minimum state requirements for staffing levels. Earlier this year, a federal study prepared by General Accounting Office had indicated that staffing levels are the number one predictor of the quality of nursing home care. Since each site has information on specific nursing homes that the other does not, consumers should review the information on both sites before making a final selection. 

Both sites have been praised by patient advocates, but with the caution that they provide only one set of tools for choosing a nursing home. Other types of information should be considered when selecting a facility - including information gained by making unannounced visits at different times of the day. The Medicare site provides a five-page Nursing Home Checklist and the California Nursing Home Site lists some criteria in its "How to Select a Nursing Home" section. 

The Medicare "Nursing Home Compare" service can be accessed either by calling 1-800-MEDICARE or by going to www.medicare.gov/Nhcompare/Home.asp 

To access "California Nursing Home Search", go to www.calnhs.org

November 2002