Our clinical team combines innovation and oversight in support of field operations to ensure we are providing the safest and most advanced pre-hospital care to our patients. The CQI program encourages our field providers to work together to develop and enhance the EMS system. The CQI program with integrated physician oversight ensures compliance with the Massachusetts Statewide Treatment Protocols, identifies training opportunities, and highlights outstanding clinical performance.
CQI Program
Our Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI) program is a patient-centered, systematic process of review and analysis architected by physician advisors and facilitated by the Director of Professional Development. The CQI program is an ongoing, continuous evaluation of system performance to determine how the system, and providers within the system, are functioning. This insight allows us to improve operational performance, and most importantly, patient outcomes. We believe strongly that process analysis and improvement, rather than reactively attributing blame to individuals when the best outcomes are not achieved, is the key to enhancing patient care and patient outcomes.
Most services review specific call types or outcomes – We review 100% of patient encounters. Reviews include all emergency responses including those that do not result in a patient being transported by ambulance. We have chosen to commit to this level of review as the best way to immediately identify and address patient care issues.
The program includes prospective, concurrent, and retrospective review of our field providers’ medical care, inclusive of assessment, procedures, and treatment. Data mined from the CQI program drives M&M rounds, monthly training, quarterly skills retention, and other continuing education. EMTs and paramedics receive valuable feedback and are provided with learning opportunities to ensure they are meeting accepted standards of patient care. The program is not punitive in nature, in fact, many field providers initiate conversations regarding patient care issues as part of their effort to continuously improve themselves.
FirstPass
Created by FirstWatch, FirstPass is a clinical quality measurement and protocol monitoring tool that enhances our CQI process by identifying clinical and operational deviations, missing data elements, and safety issues in real-time. The CQI team uses First Pass to continuously monitor preset benchmark data points, deviations from expected treatments and overall bundles of care such as ACS/STEMI, CVA and Airway Management. This type of automation allows our clinical team to focus on improving the system and the delivery of quality care, rather than the collection, entry and analysis of raw data.
Patient Feedback
We’re dedicated to providing outstanding, patient-centered pre-hospital care. Our highly trained team of paramedic and EMT professionals work toward a unified goal – to provide the best possible patient outcomes through the delivery of clinically sophisticated pre-hospital care.
While customer feedback can be useful for many reasons – to improve quality of care, enhance reputation, gain market share, reduce malpractice claims, boost employee morale, improve operations, develop competitive bids, and build patient/customer loyalty –we use this feedback to help our employees improve their patient interactions.
By sending a customer satisfaction survey to 100% of the patients we encounter, including patients who are not transported, we’re able to quantify our goals and ultimately improve the quality of care while strengthening our relationship with the communities we serve.
Surveys are administered and received by Feedback Innovations. This objective third-party process ensures that surveys remain anonymous and protect the patient’s identity. It also guarantees the integrity of the information gathered.
Feedback Innovations utilizes a fully digital platform, sending survey links via email, text, and phone. This affords us a higher rate of return in a timely, efficient manner. Patients receive requests to complete surveys soon after a call, while their experience is fresh in their mind. The system also triggers, automatically alerting supervisors and the CQI team when a score on the survey drops below a certain threshold. All surveys include an opportunity for patients to speak directly with a Pro EMS CQI team member if desired.
