Percent of Residents Who Were Assessed and Appropriately Given the Seasonal Influenza Vaccine (Short-Stay)

The measure reports the percentage of short-stay residents or patients who are assessed and appropriately given the seasonal influenza vaccine during the most recently-completed influenza season. The influenza vaccination season (IVS) is defined as beginning on October 1, or when the vaccine first becomes available*, and ends on March 31 of the following year. This measure is based on the NQF´s National Voluntary Standards for Influenza and Pneumococcal Immunizations.

The measure is the aggregate of three separately calculated submeasures to reflect the process by which a resident or patient is assessed and appropriately given the influenza vaccination during the current or most recent influenza season.

The three submeasures are as follows:
• residents or patients who received the influenza vaccine during the most recently completed influenza season, either in the facility/hospital or outside the facility/hospital (NQF #0680a);
• residents or patients who were offered and declined the seasonal influenza vaccine (NQF #0680b);
• residents or patients who were ineligible to receive the seasonal influenza vaccine due to contraindication(s) (e.g., anaphylactic hypersensitivity to eggs or other components of the vaccine, see http://www.cdc.gov/flu/professionals/vaccination/vax-summary.htm ) (NQF #0680c).

*Note: While the IVS officially begins when the vaccine becomes available, which may be before October 1, the denominator time window for the quality measure and references to the IVS for the denominator specification is from October 1 to March 31 of the following year. The numerator time window and references to the IVS in the numerator specifications may include patients and residents who are assessed and offered the vaccine before October 1. This is based on how the influenza items were coded by the facility.

The denominator consists of patients or short-stay residents 180 days of age or older on the target date of assessment who were in the facility/hospital for at least one day during the most recently-completed influenza vaccination season (IVS). The measure is based on data from the Minimum Data Set (MDS) assessments of nursing home residents, Inpatient Rehabilitation Facility Patient Assessment Instrument (IRF-PAI) assessments for Inpatient Rehabilitation Facility (IRF) patients, and the Long-Term Care Hospital (LTCH) Continuity Assessment Record & Evaluation (CARE) Data Set Version assessments of LTCH patients.

Data are collected in each of these three settings using standardized items across the three assessment instruments. For the nursing homes, the measure is limited to short-stay residents, identified as residents who have had 100 or fewer days of nursing home care. For the LTCHs, this measure will include all patients, irrespective of a patient’s length of stay. For IRFs, this measure includes all Medicare Part A and Part C patients, irrespective of a patient’s length of stay.