What are QIOs?

A Quality Improvement Organization (QIO) is a group of health quality experts, clinicians, and consumers organized to improve the care delivered to people with Medicare. QIOs work under the direction of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to assist Medicare providers with quality improvement and to review quality concerns for the protection of beneficiaries and the Medicare Trust Fund.
 

What do QIOs do?

The QIO Program, one of the largest federal programs dedicated to improving health quality for Medicare beneficiaries, is an integral part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human (HHS) Services' National Quality Strategy for providing better care and better health at lower cost. By law, the mission of the QIO Program is to improve the effectiveness, efficiency, economy, and quality of services delivered to Medicare beneficiaries. Based on this statutory charge, and CMS's program experience, CMS identifies the core functions of the QIO Program as:
  • Improving quality of care for beneficiaries
  • Protecting the integrity of the Medicare Trust Fund by ensuring that Medicare pays only for services and goods that are reasonable and necessary and that are provided in the most appropriate setting
  • Protecting beneficiaries by expeditiously addressing individual complaints, such as beneficiary complaints; provider-based notice appeals; violations of the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA); and other related responsibilities as articulated in QIO-related law.

What are Quality Innovation Network (QIN)-QIOs?

QIN-QIOs improve healthcare services through education, outreach, sharing practices that have worked in other areas, using data to measure improvement, working with patients and families and convening community partners for communication and collaboration. QIN-QIOs also work to improve the quality of healthcare for targeted health conditions and priority populations and to reduce the incidence of healthcare-acquired conditions to meet national and local priorities.
 

Best Jobs Best Exposure Newsletter Sidebar Ad

Member Login