Every Medicare- and Medicaid-certified nursing home receives at least one unannounced inspection per year from state surveyors acting under CMS authority. The resulting reports are public records, but they're dense, jargon-filled documents that most families struggle to interpret. Here's how to read them.
Where to Find Inspection Reports
- CMS Care Compare (medicare.gov/care-compare): the official source, updated quarterly
- Your state health department website: often more current
- The nursing home itself: facilities are legally required to have their most recent report on file and must provide it upon request
Understanding the Scope and Severity Grid
Each deficiency is assigned a letter code (A through L) that reflects two dimensions:
Deficiencies at level G or higher involve actual resident harm. Any J–L deficiency (immediate jeopardy) is a serious red flag and often triggers mandatory penalties.
Key Deficiency Tags to Watch
- F600–F610: Abuse, neglect, exploitation, and mistreatment (the most serious category)
- F689: Accident hazards and supervision failures
- F684: Quality of care, failure to provide necessary care and services
- F686: Pressure ulcer prevention and treatment
- F726: Sufficient and competent nursing staff
- F758: Antipsychotic medication use without appropriate indication
Reading a Plan of Correction
After a deficiency is cited, the facility submits a Plan of Correction (POC) that describes what they will do to fix the problem. Evaluating the POC is as important as reading the deficiency. A vague POC ("staff will be re-educated") without specific accountability measures and timelines is a warning sign that the problem may recur.
CareScope surfaces inspection highlights and deficiency counts for every facility. Start with our facility search to find a facility, then click through to see its full inspection profile before making any decisions.