The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) will be pausing Nursing Home Care Compare updates.

The agency announced the temporary pause to ensure accuracy of publicly reported information during a transition from the legacy Quality Improvement and Evaluation System (QIES) to the cloud-based Internet Quality Improvement and Evaluation System (iQIES).

Through September, CMS will not be updating the Nursing Home Care Compare Five Star Rating System; data refreshes are expected in October.

This pause allows the agency to “validate data integrity” while also verifying that publicly reported information meets CMS quality standards.

Operators will still be required to maintain transparency by displaying their most recent survey findings in a publicly available part of the facility so that residents, their families and visitors can take a look and make informed decisions during this time.

Any person can submit a formal request for federal agency records as well under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), CMA said. This would include CMS inspection documents and related compliance materials.

Those interested can contact their state survey agency too.