Which concept is used to compare agency performance while accounting for patient risk?

• A. Best practices
• B. Risk adjusted outcomes
• C. HIPPS code
• D. Inpatient admission

Answer: (B)

When comparing agency performance fairly, you want to account for how sick or complex the patient population is. That’s what risk-adjusted outcomes do. They use patient risk factors—like severity of illness and comorbidities—to estimate what outcomes would be expected given the case mix. By comparing actual results to these risk-adjusted expectations, you can gauge performance without penalizing agencies that treat sicker patients. If observed outcomes exceed what’s expected after adjustment, it suggests better performance.

Other options don’t serve this purpose. Best practices are guidelines for how care should be delivered, not a method to adjust for patient risk. The HIPPS code is a payment classification used for reimbursement, not a tool for comparing outcomes by risk. Inpatient admission is simply a hospitalization event, not a method to adjust or compare agency performance.