After USA Today discovered the Department of Veterans Affairs had not sent any hospital quality data to CMS' Hospital Compare since July, the department told USA Today it would start sharing quality data again on Oct. 1.
The VA stopped sharing quality data because lawyers advised the agency it needed a new agreement with CMS on how to share information. Vendor contracts had to be reworked before a deal could be made, according to the report.
The two agencies reached an agreement Tuesday, which will take effect in October.
"We're very pleased, and I know HHS is pleased, and I think this is going to be a boon for veterans and the American people," Joe Francis, director of analytics and reporting at the Veterans Health Administration, told USA Today.
It is unclear if Hospital Compare will show data from July 1 to Sept. 30, the missing window of quality data.
To comply with the Choice Act of 2014, the VA will report not only on mortality and readmission rates — which it had been reporting since 2011 — but also on infection rates and other measures.