What are Quality Improvement Organizations?

Quality Improvement Organizations (QIOs), such as IPRO, are largely not-for-profit, community-based organizations whose mission is to collaborate with providers and beneficiaries to achieve significant and continuing improvement in the quality and effectiveness of health care at the community level. With a diverse staff of physicians, nurses, statisticians, marketing experts and other professionals, these organizations:

• Identify opportunities to improve care;
• Analyze national and state-level quality performance data;
• Communicate with professional and provider communities about performance measures and their use in quality improvement projects;
• Design and collaborate on quality improvement projects that emphasize improving systems of care;
• Implement effective quality improvement strategies and evaluate the success of quality improvement activities;
• Utilize pre-tested educational materials for providers and patients, including supporting CMS's public reporting of performance measures;
• Foster collaboration among providers, payers, and others to improve care and increase the value of health care expenditures.

With their extensive experience working with providers and national and local organizations, QIOs are uniquely qualified to develop and implement quality improvement strategies. Together with many national organizations, CMS has selected priority topics to focus the work of providers and QIOs in each setting (e.g. reduce pressure ulcers in nursing homes and improve antibiotic selection and delivery to hospitalized patients). These priority topics represent important causes of morbidity and mortality among the Medicare population and the U.S. population as a whole. They also account for substantial numbers of hospitalizations and health care costs.