August 14, 2008
Improvement Organizations' 9th Statement of Work
MEDICARE AWARDS CONTRACTS FOR QUALITY IMPROVEMENT ORGANIZATIONS' 9TH STATEMENT OF WORK
Nationwide Network of Contractors to Work with Providers to Improve Quality and Safety of Health Care for Medicare Beneficiaries
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has awarded contracts for the 9th Statement of Work (SOW) for the 53 contractors participating in Medicare's Quality Improvement Organization (QIO) Program. The 9th SOW focuses on improving the quality and safety of health care services to Medicare beneficiaries. The QIO contracts extend from August 1, 2008, through July 31, 2011, and mark a new direction for the QIO Program.
The QIO Program’s 9th SOW aims to improve the quality of care and protect Medicare beneficiaries through 3 national themes, to be implemented by each of the 53 QIO contractors nationwide throughout the contract period--Beneficiary Protection, Patient Safety (also known as the “CMS National Patient Safety Initiative”), and Prevention. In addition to these national themes, QIOs in select states will focus on Health Disparities Reduction, Care Transitions, and Chronic Kidney Disease work.
For more information about the QIO 9th Statement of Work, including a list
of all 53 QIOs and the states/jurisdictions selected for sub-national work,
view the fact sheet at http://www.cms.hhs.gov/QualityImprovementOrgs/downloads/9thSOWAnnouncement080508.pdf 
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For more information, please visit: http://www.cms.hhs.gov/QualityImprovementOrgs.
