This small study is aimed at investigating the feasibility of conducting a larger-scale evaluation of the nursing home Quality Improvement Organization (QIO) program. The program, coordinated by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and administered by state-level organizations, is aimed at helping health care providers delivering Medicare-financed care to improve their quality of care and better meet the needs of Medicare beneficiaries. The impact of the program has come under increasing scrutiny in recent years, and this scrutiny has led the Institute of Medicine and others to call for an independent investigation of the program.

This project is designed to explore this possibility for Task 1a, the nursing home component of the QIO program. In particular, the aims of the feasibility study period are to:

• develop the collaborative relationship with CMS;

• identify necessary and available datasets to evaluate the program’s impact;

• develop the appropriate research design for the future study.

The primary outcome of the project is development of the proposal for the full evaluation.