CMS has awarded contracts to 14 organizations as part of a restructuring of the Quality Improvement Organization Program.
The Quality Improvement Organizations are private and mostly nonprofit organizations that include physicians and other healthcare professionals trained to help Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries with complaints about the quality of care. The 14 organizations that have received new contracts will be known as Quality Innovation Network QIOs, and they are:
• Great Plains Quality Innovation Network
• TMF
• Lake Superior/Stratis
• Telligen
• HealthInsight
• Georgia Medical Care Foundation
• Qsource
• HealthCentric Advisors
• Health Services Advisory Group
• Qualis
• VHQC
• WVMI Quality Insights
• IPRO
• Mountain Pacific Quality Health Foundation
Each QIN-QIO will work on strategic initiatives, focusing reducing healthcare-associated infections, reducing readmissions and medication errors as well as providing technical assistance. Also, as a result of the changes, some hospitals and healthcare providers will work with a different QIO than in the past. QIOs are contracted in five-year cycles and the contracts are competitively awarded.
This is the second phase of QIO program restructuring. The first phase of the restructuring, which was announced May 9, allows two Beneficiary and Family-Centered Care QIO contractors to perform the program's case review and monitoring activities separate from the quality improvement activities performed by QIN-QIOs.
The program changes will be introduced Aug. 1.
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