title: Medicare's quality improvement organization program value in nursing homes.
abstract: CMS operates the quality improvement organization (QIO) program to improve the quality of care delivered to Medicare beneficiaries. Although there have been several studies regarding the effectiveness of this program, there have not been studies regarding this program's value. This article seeks to answer the value question using costutility analysis. Although additional research is warranted, the results suggest that CMS' investment in the QIO program, estimated at $2,063 to $7,667 per quality-adjusted life year (QALY) gained for nursing home quality improvement (QI) work, represents a good value for health care dollars.
authors.affiliation: The Commonwealth Fund, New York, NY 10021, USA. ts@cmwf.org
authors.forename: Anthony
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Shih
authors.forename: Diane M
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Dewar
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Hartman
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D014487:Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, U.S.; D003362:Cost-Benefit Analysis; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D006302:Health Services Research; D006801:Humans; D006278:Medicare / Q000191:economics / Q000592:standards*; D009735:Nursing Homes / Q000191:economics / Q000592:standards*; D010147:Pain Measurement; D015397:Program Evaluation; D019984:Quality Indicators, Health Care / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D019057:Quality-Adjusted Life Years; D017749:Total Quality Management; D014481:United States