Quality Improvement Program

OMC began a Quality Improvement program in 2012.  Our Quality Improvement program includes:

• Data collection
  • Midwives worked to change the state birth certificate to accurately capture planned and unplanned OOH births by provider type and we now use that data for our work to improve care.
• Hospital Transfer Improvement
  • OMC works with the Oregon Perinatal Collaborative to coordinate the Community Birth Transfer Partnership, a statewide transfer improvement initiative.  Through CBTP, midwife representatives meet regularly with receiving hospitals to talk about how transports are going, identify patterns or concerns that have arisen, and make plans as a team to improve transfers and coordination of care.
• Targeted continuing education
  • This has involved gathering data and input (from both midwives and receiving providers) about safety concerns or gaps in knowledge and creating continuing education workshops to address each area of concern.
• Orientation for new midwives or midwives new to an area
  • To ensure that the new midwife is informed about community standards, given contact information for consultations, referrals, and transport and is connected with midwives she can call with questions.
• Guidelines for peer review and incident review
  • The community created guidelines for effective peer review including detailed guidelines for a longer case review with experienced midwives any time that there is a case that meets certain criteria (including any mortality, NICU admission, transfusion, emergency transport, or concern from another midwife or community member, among other things).
• Development of practice standards and informed consent templates
  • The community defined practice standards that the community of midwives agree to use. The practice standards provide a container for practice, can be used to communicate expectations to new midwives, and are a useful reference point in peer review and in addressing concerns.
• Process for addressing concerns about a midwife or practice
  • This involved creating a process to work directly with a midwife or practice through case review and practice review to improve the midwife or practice’s understanding of the concern and, if needed, to create a plan for quality improvement.
• Midwife participation in broader public health efforts
  • Midwives joined and participate in a variety of maternal-child health efforts in order to be part of quality improvement for all mothers and babies AND to develop relationships and mutual understanding with different provider types and policy makers.

 

See also: The 2018 Quality Improvement Update