title: Impact of voluntary accreditation on short-stay rehabilitative measures in U.S. nursing homes.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To examine accreditation from nursing homes accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities (CARF) and whether this is associated with improved rehabilitation care.
  
  
  METHODS
  Cross-sectional association of CARF accreditation and quality.
  
  
  METHODS
  Comparison of the short-stay quality measures (influenza and pneumococcal vaccination; pain; delirium; pressures sores; five-star quality and health inspection scores) between the sample of 246 CARF-accredited homes compared with the 15,393 nursing homes in the 2010 On-Line Survey Certification of Automated Records (OSCAR).
  
  
  RESULTS
  CARF-accredited nursing homes demonstrate better quality with regard to the short-stay quality measures.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Approaches beyond traditional regulation and governmental inspections are necessary to improve the quality of care in nursing homes.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  During a patient's rehabilitation stay, minimizing iatrogenic complications is paramount. Given the findings of this study, it is unfortunate that very few nursing homes are CARF accredited.
authors.affiliation: Department of Community Health Systems, School of Nursing, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94143, USA. laura.wagner@nursing.ucsf.edu
authors.forename: Laura M
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Wagner
authors.forename: Shawna M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: McDonald
authors.forename: Nicholas G
authors.initials: NG
authors.lastname: Castle
mesh_terms: D000068:Accreditation / Q000458:organization & administration*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004509:Education, Nursing, Continuing; D006801:Humans; D009735:Nursing Homes / Q000458:organization & administration* / Q000592:standards*; D011787:Quality of Health Care; D019145:Rehabilitation Nursing / Q000458:organization & administration* / Q000592:standards*; D014481:United States
keywords: Quality measures; accreditation; nursing home care; rehabilitation nursing