Imagine…Every Patient Receiving the Right Care Every Time

The QIO program, administered by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), helps ensure Medicare beneficiaries get the best quality healthcare possible. Quality Improvement Organizations (QIOs), contracted with CMS, are a nationwide network of community-based experts dedicated to ensuring every patient receives the right care every time.

QIOs work throughout the health care system to spread best practices, reduce medical errors and create more efficient systems of care. Working hand-in-hand with physicians, hospitals, nursing homes, home health agencies, health plans and pharmacists, QIOs provide technical support, mentoring and education to improve health care quality. QIOs also protect Medicare beneficiaries and the Medicare program by responding to patient complaints about quality of care as well as appeals of discharge decisions. No other group has the experience or breadth to provide such intensive hands-on assistance in every state and territory in the U.S.

For the period August 2008-July 2011, OFMQ's work in the QIO program is structured under three themes:  Beneficiary Protection, Patient Safety and Prevention.

Read more about QIO Program Priorities.  

Read more about the QIO Program History.