The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services unveiled the Hospice Compare website, providing consumers a snapshot look at hospice quality data.

The site allows users to compare hospice providers based on quality metrics such as the percentage of patients that were screened for pain or difficult or uncomfortable breathing, or whether patients’ preferences are being met. The data on Hospice Compare currently is based on information submitted by 3,876 hospices.

Based on current data, hospice providers in New Jersey met or exceeded national averages on measures concerning patient and family preferences, beliefs and values, and on measures concerning identifying pain at the start of hospice care (national average  93.9 percent), checking patients for shortness of breath (national average 97.3 percent), providing timely treatment for shortness of breath (national average 94.6 percent) and offering care for constipation if patients were taking opioid medication (national average 93.3 percent). The measure on timely and thorough pain assessment when pain was identified as a problem showed that performance is quite variable in New Jersey, with some hospices far exceeding the national average of 77 percent while others lagged significantly behind the national average.

The site also provides tools and tips for consumers to choose a hospice provider and links to termination notices for noncompliant hospice providers.

The Hospice Quality Reporting Program includes both quality data from the Hospice Item Set and Hospice Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (Hospice CAHPS). The site provides additional data details for providers, along with links to update their information.

Hospice Compare joins a growing list of consumer data sites from CMS focused on hospitals, nursing homes, physicians, dialysis providers and more.