Quality Assurance and Performance Improvement (QAPI) in Nursing Homes- Activities Related to QAPI Implementation

Quality Assurance and Performance Improvement (QAPI) Activities: Section 6102(c) of the Affordable Care Act mandates the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to establish standards and provide technical assistance to nursing homes on the development of best practices relating to QAPI. The CMS put forth several initiatives to implement these provisions that include:
•Refinement of QAPI Tools and Resources: Ongoing development of QAPI tools and resources that nursing homes may use to design and implement an effective QAPI program.
•Launch of a QAPI Demonstration: Demonstration project in 17 nursing homes in 4 States to test tools and resources and provide technical assistance to nursing homes in QAPI implementation.
•Rollout of QAPI materials: CMS will release materials later this calendar year that will support nursing homes in QAPI implementation.
•Draft of the QAPI Regulation: CMS is in the process of drafting a new QAPI regulation.
•Launch of the Nursing Home Quality Improvement Questionnaire: The CMS has launched a nursing home quality improvement questionnaire using an independent contractor. The data collection period is from June 25 through September 28, 2012.