Settlement Agreement Provision
V.A
To ensure that all services for individuals receiving services under this Agreement are of good quality, meet individuals’ needs, and help individuals achieve positive outcomes, including avoidance of harms, stable community living, and increased integration, independence, and self-determination in all life domains (e.g., community living, employment, education, recreation, healthcare, and relationships), and to ensure that appropriate services are available and accessible for individuals in the target population, the Commonwealth shall develop and implement a quality and risk management system that is consistent with the terms of this Section.
V.B
The Commonwealth’s Quality Management System shall: identify and address risks of harm; ensure the sufficiency, accessibility, and quality of services to meet individuals’ needs in integrated settings; and collect and evaluate data to identify and respond to trends to ensure continuous quality improvement.
About Quality Management System
DBHDS created a Quality Management Plan that outlines the quality management structure and methods utilized to fulfill the requirements of Section V of the Settlement Agreement. This comprehensive plan is designed to integrate the quality assurance, risk management and quality improvement activities relevant to the developmental disabilities services system to ensure that services are of good quality, meet individuals’ needs, and help individuals achieve positive outcomes. Part three of the QM Plan is the Quality Management Annual Report and Program Evaluation that assesses the accomplishments and challenges and makes recommendations of actions necessary for continuous quality improvement.
The DBHDS quality improvement system is led by the Division of Clinical and Quality Management and structured by organizational committees with the Quality Improvement Committee (QIC) as the highest quality committee for the Department, and all other committees serve as sub-committees, including the: Mortality Review Committee, Risk Management Review Committee, Case Management Steering Committee, Regional Quality Councils, and the Key Performance Area Workgroups: Health, Safety, & Wellbeing, Community Inclusion & Integration, Provider Capacity & Competency. The QIC sub-committees report to the QIC and identify and address risks of harm; ensure the sufficiency, accessibility, and quality of services to meet individuals’ needs in integrated settings; ensure physical, mental, and behavioral health; ensure stability; ensure individual choice, self-determination, and community inclusion and integration; ensure provider competency and collect and evaluate data to identify and respond to trends to ensure continuous quality improvement. The QIC sub-committees evaluate data at least quarterly and report to the QIC at least three times per year.