QAPI Wrap-Up

So we’ve talked a lot about Quality Assessment and Performance Improvement (QAPI) in the last few articles and I wanted to give a quick note on each. Use this page as a guide to find past articles relating to QAPI.

Are you prepared for QAPI?

The first article in this series was Are you prepared for QAPI?. We tested the water by finding out what a QAPI program is, some overall guidelines and reports that could help to demonstrate your progress.

CASPER Reports – Not Just a Friendly Ghost

CASPER Reports – Not Just a Friendly Ghost was the second article in our series and gave more detail about Certification And Survey Provider Enhanced Reports (CASPER). These are the reports that are created based off of OASIS responses for a designated period and are publically reported on Home Health Compare. We talked about signing up for access, compiling and retrieving reports and using those reports for your QAPI program.

Home Health Care CAHPS Reports

Home Health Care CAHPS Reports was next in our tour of QAPI resources and delved into the Home Health Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (HHCAHPS). These reports are based on patient responses to satisfaction surveys administered by official vendors and publically reported on Home Health Compare. We summarized the patient selection process, how to choose an official vendor, how to register for login credentials, the contents of the reports and incorporating them into QAPI.

What is Home Health Compare?

In our fourth article, What is Home Health Compare?, we explored the CMS Home Health Compare website where CASPER and CAHPS information is publically reported. We talked about how the website works, some of the information that is reported and how you can use this data for your QAPI program.

Your PEPPER report and QAPI

In Your PEPPER report and QAPI, the fifth article in the series, we looked at how your Program for Evaluating Payment Patterns Electronic Report (PEPPER) can contribute to your QAPI program. As a reminder, PEPPER reports compile data based on your claims. We looked at how the reports work, what information each section is giving you, and how to interpret it to determine your agency’s problem areas.

Infection Control and QAPI

The final article in our series was about Infection Control and QAPI. We summarized the components of an infection control program, talked about how to interpret statistics into a meaningful program, recommended some actions for addressing problem areas, and provided some resources to bolster your agency’s information.

So what does this mean?

If you haven’t done so, please review the articles above. They will help to identify data sources to go forward with your QAPI program. Just remember to focus your efforts on a few items at a time. Prioritize “high risk, high volume, or problem-prone areas” to ensure you stay in compliance with the Conditions of Participation. It is virtually impossible to address all of your agency’s issues at once without overwhelming you and your staff.

More Information

To review the full regulatory text for QAPI, check out §484.65 Condition of participation: Quality assessment and performance improvement (QAPI) on the Federal Register. To submit questions about this article, connect with us on Facebook.