Overview

QA to QI Consulting is an AHRQ-listed Patient Safety Organization authorized to provide services in conformance with the Patient Safety and Quality Improvement Act of 2005. QA to QI Consulting is also a designated Connecticut Patient Safety organization authorized by the Connecticut State Department of Health to provide services in conformance with CGS 19a-127o.

QA to QI Consulting offers services to healthcare providers and other Patient Safety Organizations aimed at improving quality and patient safety. We are dedicated to research and innovation to find fixes for dysfunctions in healthcare management. See our latest whitepaper which outlines a framework to identify promising leverage points for improvement in patient safety.

In the course of conducting 3 national studies and publishing 6 journal articles, we have acquired unique expertise in how to use clinical peer review as an effective tool to improve quality and patient safety. Our firm specializes in collecting and analyzing data related to all aspects of peer review.  We also enable protected self-reporting (see related whitepaper) as a strategy to improve the case identification process and to engage healthcare professionals in a culture of safety. In contrast, most other PSOs are focused on organizing improvement collaboratives and/or on general reporting and analysis of patient safety incidents.

Services for Healthcare Providers

A Conceptual Framework for Improving Patient Safety

Conceptual Framework for Patient Safety Improvement

Federal Protection for Clinical Peer Review and Related Event Reporting

 

Available to My PREPTM and PREP-MSTM Clients without additional fees

Sample PSO Services Agreement

State of Connecticut Statutory Compliance for Hospitals and Outpatient Surgical Facilities

A low-cost option incorporating federal protections

Services for Patient Safety Organizations

  • Access authoritative content for building a culture of safety through better clinical peer review process for your website, newsletters and educational programs
  • Obtain clinical peer review process benchmarking data
  • Provide free group participation in the Normative Peer Review Database Project under your PSO protections
  • Offer group discounts on products and services for better clinical peer review process to your PSO clients

Sample PSO Support Agreement

Frequently Asked Questions about PSO Services

Additional Tools and Supports for Improved Clinical Peer Review Practice

Cooperative Projects
Normative Peer Review Database Project
Ideal Peer Review Process Collaborative
Clinical Peer Review Innovation Showcase
Services
Site Visit: A jump-start for organizational improvement
The Peer Review Enhancement ProgramSM aka PREPSM
DataDriverSM: Methodology to leverage data to improve organizational performance
From QA to QISM: Custom solutions for organizational change and process improvement
Products
Peer Review Enhancement Program Management SystemTM aka PREP-MSTM: Total software support for the QI Model
My PREPTM: A complete, affordable, integrated package for do-it-yourself clinical peer review program improvement
Medical Staff Opinion Survey : A simple, cost-effective tool to monitor medical staff perceptions of the hospital and its quality-related programs
Peer Review Program Evaluation: A free, brief, evidence-based self-assessment inventory using the QI Model now available online

Background

For hospitals, outpatient surgical centers and group practices, our PSO services support efforts to create a culture of safety and learning by making it safe for clinicians to self-report cases for peer review, by establishing an effective, non-punitive clinical peer review process, and by bringing efficiency and effectiveness to peer review program management. All this can all be readily achieved with My PREPTM (the Do-It-Yourself option) or via The Peer Review Enhancement ProgramSM in combination with PREP-MSTM.

For other PSOs, we offer free group participation in the Normative Peer Review Database Project. In addition, we provide content for newsletters and produce educational programs customized to membership needs.

All this activity is complemented by our ongoing efforts to make it easy for healthcare organizations to transition to the QI Model for peer review. Longer term, the Ideal Peer Review Process Collaborative will further enhance the evidence base on how best to achieve optimal peer review process.

The formation of a PSO was a natural extension of our consulting activity and studies of clinical peer review practice. Over the past 6 years, QA to QI Consulting has developed a suite of evidenced-based products and services in support of healthcare provider efforts to improve quality, safety and resource use. In effect, QA to QI Consulting had been conducting the essential functions of a PSO absent the designation. Our prior work uncovered a significant relationship between particular clinical peer review practices and better hospital performance on both subjective and objective measures of quality and safety. It allowed us to define an evidence-based, best-practice model for peer review: the QI Model. It also revealed huge variation with respect to the use of these practices and equally large opportunity for overall program improvement.

The Normative Peer Review Database Project extends this work in order to create the reference point from which to validate best practices and otherwise evaluate peer review program improvement efforts. It also supports and advances the AHRQ Common Formats initiative. The QA to QI PSO offers the protections needed to promote wide participation in the project and provides a platform for dissemination of knowledge and tools for improving quality and safety through better peer review process. In this role, the PSO will provide services to other PSOs as well as to individual healthcare provider organizations.

Vision

QA to QI Consulting will contribute to process improvements that demonstrably enhance healthcare quality and patient safety on a national level.

Mission

The primary purpose of QA to QI Consulting is to conduct activities to improve quality and patient safety.

The company will work with interested healthcare providers to facilitate improved quality and safety by offering a variety of products and services, including management consulting and patient safety organization services. It will seek opportunities to apply its unique expertise in the domain of clinical peer review practice to further advance knowledge and practice. In this effort, it will develop relationships with a variety of state and national organizations, as well as with other Patient Safety Organizations, to disseminate improvement information and recommendations.