Is There a Business Case for Nursing Home Quality Improvement?

Evidence supporting a relationship between costs and quality in nursing homes has been inconsistent. The Minnesota Performance-based Incentive Payment Program (PIPP) is an innovative public policy that promotes quality improvement (QI) in the state's nursing facilities. The objective of this study was to investigate the economic or business perspective surrounding QI participation by exploring nursing home leader perceptions regarding market-based motivations for improvements, or a business case for engaging in a quality improvement project. There appeared to be a perception that without the increased rates provided by PIPP, needed changes to improve quality would not have occurred.