Q.I.

 

(QUALITY

 IMPROVEMENT)

 

 

 

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QI & EMS AGENCIES

 

In 1996, the New York State Public Health Law  (NYS PHL) Article 30 was  amended to add the requirement that “...every ambulance service and advanced life support first response service shall establish or participate in a quality improvement program, which shall be an ongoing system to monitor and evaluate the quality and appropriateness of the medical care …and which shall pursue opportunities to improve patient care and to resolve identified problems..”  Every certified service was notified by the NYS Department of Health Bureau of EMS (NYSDOH BEMS) regarding this change at that time.  Section 3006 very clearly describes the configuration and responsibilities of an EMS quality improvement (QI) program, and includes the expectation that it would have been fully implemented by January 1997.

 

While this requirement to conduct regular QI assessments has been a component of EMS agency certification for many years, it is recognized by the Westchester Region that this process is not something that may have survived multiple changes in administration, even if it were correctly implemented initially.  Most services have had little or no exposure to the principals of a true QI program and may have difficulty designing a system of non-punitive evaluation and implementing a follow-up corrective action plan where problems have been identified.  

 

The Regional  Emergency Medical Advisory Committee (REMAC) has developed a Regional QI Plan to assist local agencies in meeting this requirement.  The Regional EMS Office is required to collect information regarding local programs and provide records to NYSDOH BEMS on an annual basis.  

 

All agencies are reminded that QI is a REQUIREMENT of NYS EMS Service Certification.

 

 

 

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QI PLAN

Useful forms for QI Committees:

Regional Data Collection Forms (Coming Soon!)

PCR QI Review Form/Tool

QI Meeting Report
Updated as of 11/15/04

Collaborative Committee Supplemental Form- 
New as of 11/15/04

 

The REMAC QI Committee has asked that all agencies be reminded and updated regarding the following:

 

  1.  Every agency should have submitted to the Regional EMS Office a copy of the agency's most recent QI Plan with a signed collaborative agreement by March 31, 2011.  The QI Plan should correlate to the 2011 Regional QI Program Policy Statement. 

  2. The 2011 Regional QI Program established a discussion forum for EMS agency officers and medical directors to communicate directly with the REMAC QI Committee.  Meeting dates will be available soon. Existing hospital and EMS agency collaborative QI programs continue to be encouraged and are welcomed to participate with the REMAC QI Committee.

  3. Once determined by the REMAC QI Committee and approved by REMAC, regional data evaluation   instructions and collection tools will be distributed to EMS agencies. As data is compiled, preliminary and final evaluation reports will be compiled by the committee and will be made available to all  participating agencies. 

 

Everyone's participation and support in this process is greatly appreciated.  If there are any questions regarding the Regional QI Program in general, please do not hesitate to contact the Regional EMS Office at (914) 231-1616.

 

 

 

 

 

 

QI REFERENCE MATERIALS

 

After NYS PHL Article 30 was amended in 1996 to include Section 3006, a QI guidebook was issued by the NYSDOH to assist agencies in the formation of an evaluation process as described by statute:

 

 

Additional resources for developing a QI program can be found by referring to:

 

 

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NYSDOH/SEMAC  STUDIES 

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Check back for NYS DOH / SEMAC studies and reports

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REGIONAL STUDIES 

 

 

Please contact the Regional EMS Office at 914-231-1616 if there are any questions.

 

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