Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS)

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) is the federal government agency that runs Medicare and Medicaid. CMS works with hospitals to report on measures about the care they give. CMS uses medical information from patient records. For more information on CMS, visit the CMS Web site.

These are the CMS performance measures we use and why they’re important:

Pneumonia

Patients Given Pneumococcal Vaccination

• Pneumonia is a severe infection of the lungs.
• A pneumonia shot can help prevent pneumonia in the future.

Patients Given Smoking Cessation Advice/Counseling

• Smoking increases the risk of pneumonia.
• Quitting smoking improves health.

Patients Having a Blood Culture Performed Prior to First Antibiotic Received in the Hospital

• Different types of germs cause pneumonia.
• A blood culture is a test that may tell the doctor which germ is responsible and therefore which drug to prescribe.

Patients Given the Most Appropriate Initial Antibiotics

• Different types of germs cause pneumonia.
• Antibiotics are drugs that treat infection and each one is different.
• Hospitals should choose the drugs that best treat the pneumonia in each patient.

Patients Given Initial Antibiotics within Six Hours after Arrival

• Antibiotics are drugs that treat infection.
• Antibiotics must be used at the right time to cure pneumonia. This also reduces complications.

For more information on pneumonia, visit the web site:
http://www.lungusa.org/lung-disease/pneumonia/