Quality Outcomes: Measuring to Make a Difference

On April 28th new surveyor guidance under Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Appendix PP will take effect which will require your teams to take a proactive approach to collecting, monitoring, and evaluating your Quality Assurance and Performance Improvement (QAPI) activities. QAPI is a transformative approach in healthcare, aimed at ensuring the highest standards of care and operational efficiency. Implemented across various healthcare settings, QAPI focuses on continuous improvement through systematic analysis and proactive strategies. In this blog, we will delve into the significance of QAPI outcomes, their impact on resident care, and how healthcare providers can effectively measure and enhance these outcomes.

“If you're proactive, you focus on preparing. If you're reactive, you end up focusing on repairing.” - John Maxwell

Quality Assurance and Performance Improvement (QAPI) integrates two main aspects: Quality Assurance (QA), which involves minimizing deficiencies and maintaining compliance with standards, and Performance Improvement (PI), which focuses on proactive measures to enhance processes and outcomes. Together, these elements create a continuous cycle of improvement. Under the new surveyor’s guidance, providers will be asked to prove how they measure outcomes and how Medical Directors are involved in assessing the outcomes for improvement. It will be necessary to show how utilizing a method of evaluation such as “plan, do check, act” or “root cause analysis” is assisting in changing the overall outcome of the performance indicator monitored. Consistent noncompliance in achieving QAPI objectives may result in further deficiencies. Take time now to review your QAPI activities and adjust your process for identifying benchmarks and your approach to achieving your objectives. Contact Adept Senior Living Solutions at adeptsls.com for tools and resources to help facilitate your organization’s compliance.