Quality assurance, corporate compliance, and risk management: overlapping but not identical tools.

Whether or not this is true, since the oft-referenced Institute of Medicine report leading to the enactment of the Nursing Home Reform Act in 1987 was published, Medicare and Medicaid skilled nursing facilities and nursing facilities, consumers, government and payers expect a continuing focus on quality, however defined, outcomes and resident autonomy and function. This has had a spillover effect on other elements of the long-term care continuum, particularly as assisted living facilities accept higher acuity residents and seek Medicaid payment, which carries with it increased scrutiny. In the current environment, some believe it is no longer sufficient to "do right" in providing care; it is also necessary to show how the provider strives to do right.