The Washington State Medical Association has joined with the Puget Sound Health Alliance and the The Obstetrics Clinical Outcomes Assessment Program (OB COAP) in a voluntary data collection and analysis initiative with the goal that women in the state of Washington receive evidence-based obstetrical care. It is based on the proven model of ongoing Foundation for Health Care Quality programs that have an established track record for improving quality. The advantages to participation in OB COAP include:
- access to your own data as soon as it is entered;
- a collection of currently recommended NQF guidelines;
- Joint Commission OPPE (Ongoing Professional Practice Evaluation) metrics available at any time;
- multiple uses for hospital administrators, including patient safety, process improvement, and quality improvement projects;
- quick turnaround of meaningful data with comparative reports provided to facilitate quality improvement efforts;
- the development of a community of providers who can learn from one another in a trusted, collaborative environment;
- the ability to provide input on setting a quality improvement agenda for the state; and
- a quality improvement initiative based on data from 90,000 deliveries per year.
The deliverables of an all-inclusive statewide OB COAP initiative are predictability, reduction in adverse outcomes, increased responsibility, and safety for the mother and the newborn.
To learn more about OB COAP, please visit www.obcoap.org or contact Ellen Kauffman, MD, Medical Director, at ekauffman@qualityhealth.org or Kristin Sitcov, Program Director, atksitcov@qualityhealth.org.