CMS will combine eight separate compare tools into a single platform to simplify data searching for Medicare patients and providers, the agency said Jan. 23.
The new "Medicare Care Compare" tool will combine some of the most-used sections of Medicare.gov. They include the following "Compare" sites: hospital, nursing home, home health, dialysis facility, long-term care hospital, inpatient rehabilitation facility, physician and hospice. Each site, which now has a different interface and functions independently, will in the future allow users to access the data through a single point.
The changes are set to come later this year. CMS also is developing a companion portal called "Provider Data Catalog" that will allow researchers and providers to access data more easily.