Effectiveness of the PASRR Program Compared With Claims Data in Identifying Nursing Home Admissions With Mental Illness

Nursing homes (NHs) are an important setting of care for individuals with complex mental health conditions, including schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and other (nonschizophrenia) psychoses [ie, serious mental illness (SMI)]. The federally mandated Preadmission Screening and Resident Review (PASRR) program is in place to help ensure that individuals identified as having SMI, among other conditions, are appropriately admitted to an NH rather than a less restrictive community setting. However, it is unclear the extent to which the PASRR SMI flag aligns with diagnoses recorded by clinicians in claims/encounter data.