QAPI: A Steep Learning Curve for Many

I am becoming increasingly concerned that many, if not most, post-acute/long-term care organizations are poorly prepared to embrace the requirements of the looming Quality Assessment Performance Improvement (QAPI) reporting requirements mandated by the Affordable Care Act. I base that conviction on how much I have learned over the past few years working with my colleague, Nathan Ives, of Strategy Driven Enterprises, LLC.

A graduate of the United States Naval Academy, for over two decades Nathan has been immersed in the world of quality assessment, performance improvement and regulatory compliance as each has applied to the nuclear power industry. He has held several influential positions at the Institute of Nuclear Power Operations (INPO) and has led teams of nuclear operations professionals in the performance evaluation of over 24 nuclear electric generating stations from 20 utilities in the United States, Canada, and Japan. He also led the nuclear industry’s effort to redefine performance standards in the areas of organizational alignment, managerial decision-making, plant operations, and risk management.

For the past two years, Nathan has been working with my Artower colleague, Terri Williams, RN, on developing EviQual™, a turnkey regulatory compliance solution that PA/LTC organizations can use to create a QAPI program. Terri has nearly 30 years of experience as a practitioner, educator and advocate for quality improvement and patient safety at PA/LTC facilities. Now, as a I have neither an operational engineering nor clinical background, for me it has been a fascinating learning experience. And what I have learned primarily is that QAPI – as understood from how it has been applied in other industries – is an entirely different approach to outcome quality and patient safety than what most PA/LTC organizations are currently familiar with.

Whereas historically those organizations have focused a great deal of attention on observing, recording and diagnosing the cause(s) of adverse events, the whole point of a quality assessment program is to proactively diagnose existing practices, policies and performance to create an environment in which such events don’t happen in the first place. It is a paradigm shift in thinking and approach that for most organizations must be accompanied by changes in organizational culture.

That’s why in creating EviQual™ we have sought to leverage the already existing knowledgebase of what has been proven effective in improving quality and safety in an industry that has many parallels with healthcare. In fact, Nathan and I collaborated on a white paper  some time ago on the applicability of lessons learned in the nuclear power industry to aligning healthcare organizations via quality and performance improvement.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has made available QAPI at a Glance, a step-by-step guide focusing on 12 core elements ranging from organizational sponsorship and leadership to tactical  program implementation. A very well written accompaniment to that guide was just recently completed as a series of articles for Long-Term Care Magazine by Nell Griffin, LPN, EdM. Both are wonderful resources if you are new to understanding QAPI and the important ramifications it will have on PA/LTC organizations.

The first step in the 12-step process for implementing a QAPI program focuses on leadership, responsibility and accountability. What this requires is the active and committed sponsorship of the QAPI process by senior executives and board members. So when I hear leadership teams at PA/LTC organizations say they are confident their clinical teams are proactively addressing the QAPI requirements, I can’t help but fear those organizations have already stumbled out of the gate.

Cheers,
  ~ Sparky

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