For four decades, the federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has been focused on improving the quality of healthcare provided to Medicare recipients across all care settings. To do this work, CMS relies on the Quality Improvement Organization – or QIO program to measure and improve quality and motivate providers to engage in healthcare quality improvement initiatives. IPRO has been involved in this work since its inception.

In this episode of Quality Watch, Dr. Patricia Gagliano, Vice President of Healthcare Quality Improvement at IPRO, discusses the QIO program, how it works, and who is eligible to participate in this current contract period.

Please visit qi.ipro.org to learn more about the Mid-Atlantic QIN-QIO (Region 2).

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CMS recently introduced regulatory changes that affect the way state Medicaid programs collect, maintain, and share provider information with beneficiaries. Underpinning these changes is the requirement that, by January 1, 2027, states implement a Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources – or FHIR-based Application Programming Interface to enable public access to provider directory information. IPRO's Nikolas Matthes, MD, PhD, MPH, MSc; Collin York, and Matthew Roberts, MPH, DrPH, explain the FHIR API and how it can enhance states' provider directories.

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Patient Family Advisory Council exist in 51.36% of hospitals, according to the most recent data from the American Hospital Association. Similar initiatives exist within nursing homes, rehab facilities and provider groups, underscoring the essential role of the voice of the patient in designing and delivery high quality healthcare.

PFACs have been shown to help providers deliver safe, culturally responsive, and equitable healthcare. More recently, a new term has emerged. Patient, Family, and Care-partner Advisors – PFCAs – are individuals who provide insights based on their lived experiences to help healthcare organizations improve the quality of care.

In this episode of Quality Watch, we hear from Laura Avelino, a senior quality improvement specialist at IPRO, and Rosie Bartel, who has been a patient advocate since her daughter was born two months premature in 1978.

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