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Understanding the Nursing Home Quality Initiative  

The Nursing Home Quality Initiative (NHQI), part of CMS’s overall Quality Initiative was established in 2001 by CMS to improve the quality of care in nursing homes. Using the MDS Repository, the national database of MDS information from the 17,000 US skilled nursing facilities, the NHQI gives information about the care at a particular facility and gives data for quality improvement efforts. Quality Indicators and Quality Measures are also derived from this data.  

The NHQI also works to:

• Establish and enforce standards
• Give plans, doctors, and providers technical assistance
• Promote or create collaborations and partnerships
• Give consumers assistance and information to make choices (The Nursing Home Compare site is an example of this)
• Structure coverage and payments to improve care
• Reward desired performance

The NHQI website can be viewed at: http://www.cms.hhs.gov/quality/nhqi  

Quality Improvement Organizations (QIOs) are state organizations funded by CMS. They work to improve the quality of nursing home care in each state. QIOs are not concerned with regulatory issues, but assist facilities to improve quality of care, and share information with physicians and facilities about best practices.  

QIO websites are an excellent source of free quality improvement information, and offer articles, seminars, and forms on essential care topics. Ohio Kepro, the state of Ohio’s QIO is a good example of this. Ohio Kepro produces an NHQI weekly update that gives valuable information on improving care.

The current update can be viewed at: http://www.ohiokepro.com/newsletters/nhqi/index.html  

To find the contact and website information for the QIO in every state, visit the website of The American Health Quality Association, which represents all of the QIOs.

Their main page can be viewed at: http://www.ahqa.org  

To find the states list for QIOs, visit: http://www.ahqa.org/pub/quality/161_688_4688.cfm

Quality Assurance audits can be found in the book:

Forms for Long Term Care

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