High Quality PSO (HP-PSO) Accreditation

High Quality PSOs are effective in improving healthcare quality, patient safety and outcomes. 

High Quality PSOs break the silos that are created by state quality improvement protections and provide healthcare professionals new tools to provide patients with improved care and are transparent with their learnings to allow the entire health care system to also improve. 

A High Quality PSO strives to foster a safety culture and aims for its health care professionals to provide the highest quality care in the nation. 

How do we define a High Performing PSO™:  A PSO that provides quality analysis and evidenced-based feedback to its healthcare providers that that raise the standard of practice and/or improve patient quality of care, patient safety and patient outcomes.

Accreditation provides recognition that the content and quality of the program has been evaluated and meets standards set by the profession.  Providers can be assured that appropriate knowledge and skill areas are included and that the program is run by qualified experts and produces a quality feedback that can achieve the results a provider is striving for. 

PSOs do not provide standardized services and thus their performance cannot be measured through traditional performance measures.  AQIPS has established standards for the industry and uses clinical experts to review the strength of the quality improvement program.  Providers are the ultimate arbiters of the quality of PSOs’ services. Providers, therefore, must also judge the value of the service they receive from a PSO.   

In short, the High Quality PSO Accreditation is designed to validate the PSO’s effectiveness in improving patient safety, quality of patient care or improving outcomes.

 1.  Standards a High Quality PSO™ meet:

a. The PSO has articulated a clear mission for the program and are taking the time to reflect on the means they are using to accomplish that mission, goals, and objectives.

1. The PSO is performing High Quality Patient Safety Activities to transform health care delivery, which could include the following:

• Quality Analysis and best practices;
• Innovative programs that accelerate the development of new voluntary provider-driven opportunities for improvement using the PSQIA protections (that would not be done without the PSQIA protections);
• Develop breakthroughs in our understanding of how best to improve patient safety;
• Continuous quality improvement through sharing quality information throughout the healthcare continuum;
• Takes a systems approach to evaluating quality of care, including RCA2 and assessing gaps in coordinated care;
• Facilitating the sharing of quality information in value-based programs, or using the protections in a Centralized Peer Review or Surveillance Review system; or
• Is performing advanced analytics, including real time or predictive analytics to improve the quality of care.

b. Transforming Safety Culture

• Works with their members to support safety culture;
• Gives providers the tools to have a strong Patient Safety Evaluation System to solve their own problems; or
• Supports providers working with Accrediting Bodies within the safety culture to improve quality processes, if applicable.

• High Quality PSOs assist their providers in conducting quality improvement activities; 
• Providers adopt recommendations and may track improvements;
• Providers report what changes they have made in their PSES to improve patient safety and quality of care
• Encourage safety culture, through surveys or other appropriate means.

2.  Expert Assessment Enhances the Accreditation Process

The expert evaluation entails a review of the PSO programs using a set of procedures approved by the AQIPS Board.  Peer evaluators are practitioners with expertise in the area of quality and patient safety.  Peer evaluation ensures that persons competent to judge the educational merit and professional relevance of the program have the opportunity to examine and assess the quality of the PSO’s programs.

3.  Providers Recommend the PSO for its services

PSOs are accountable to the providers that participate in their PSO.  Therefore, the accreditation program includes a confidential survey of providers evaluating PSOs services.

 4.  How do patients/providers/regulatory bodies others know the PSO is high performing?

• High Quality status is awarded to the PSO by experts in the field;
• High Quality PSO Certificate and Logo is awarded;
• High Quality PSO is listed on the AQIPS website 

General Process: 

• Application review
• Feedback Quality Data Review
• Survey of providers
• On-site review of analytics [1]