Quality Gap in Long-Stay Antipsychotic Quality Measure Performance Widens Over the Pandemic, Reversing Past Gains

Abstract

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) grades nursing home performance in antipsychotic prescribing quarterly, publishing findings as a quality measure. While scores have improved since 2011, marked performance variation between facilities persists. To assess quality gap changes between best- and worst-performing deciles, we compared quarterly prescribing changes between these groups pre-pandemic (April 2011 to March 2020) and during the pandemic (April 2020 to March 2022). Antipsychotic quality measure scores, improving pre-pandemic, deteriorated during the pandemic. The pre-pandemic quality gap between the best- and worst-performing deciles narrowed as the worst-performing decile improved faster than the best-performing decile. During the pandemic, the quality gap widened as the worst-performing decile relapsed more than the best-performing decile ( p < .0001). The pandemic disrupted quality performance gains and compounded disparities between facilities. A better understanding of the factors allowing high performers to weather pandemic stressors better than poor performers may reveal opportunities to improve nursing home quality and equity for all residents.