OASIS Alert

Entice staff with CEUs.

You don't have to convince your staff to slog through page after page of paperwork describing the outcome-based quality improvement process--just turn on the computer and connect to the latest Web-based training modules.

The Web training modules take you through each part of the OBQI process, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services' Pamela Cheetham announced in the Jan. 18 Home Health Open Door Forum.

This tool will help you understand outcome reports and translate your agency's performance into improvement plans, Cheetham said. "Because it is self-guided, users can decide on what pace and order of going through the material best fits their purpose," she tells Eli.

The training modules were designed as a joint effort between Easton, MD-based Quality Improvement Organization Delmarva Foundation for Medical Care and the University of Colorado's Health Sciences Center, Cheetham said. The modules are hosted on the CMS-sponsored Medicare Quality Improvement Community (MedQIC) Web site.

Program Design Draws Users In

Each module begins with a "big picture" section to give the user an overview, followed by one or more "hands on" parts. One section contains a basic overview of the OBQI process, with frequently asked questions answered from the points of view of an administrator, a quality manager, a clinician and a QIO.

Users can choose from a list of questions to ask as well as which points of view they want to read. Throughout the modules, technical terms that might confuse a user--OBQI, outcome report, CASPER--are highlighted and linked to a glossary of definitions.

Hands-on sections of the modules combine interactive "discussions" of a topic--for example, interpreting outcome reports--with multiple-choice questions requiring user responses. The program provides feedback about the accuracy of the user's answers.

Example: You may have to evaluate each team member's suggestion and accept or reject it before you can move on to the next section. 
 
Opportunity: Knowing that nursing continuing education credit for the Web-based training is available through the Colorado Foundation for Medical Care may encourage clinicians to spend time brushing up on OBQI. 

Note: To access the modules, go to www.medqic.org, select "Home Health Agencies," select "Goto OBQI Training" and fill out the on-line registration form.