Section 6102(c) of the Affordable Care Act required that all skilled nursing centers develop Quality Assurance and Performance Improvement (QAPI) programs. The QAPI requirements were included in the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ (CMS) revised Requirements of Participation (RoP) for nursing centers, published in October 2016. The stated purpose and intent of the QAPI regulations is to “develop, implement, and maintain an effective comprehensive, data-driven QAPI program that focuses on systems of care, outcomes of care, and quality of life.”

The QAPI requirements will be enforced over three phases (I- Nov 2016, II- Nov 2017 and III-Nov, 2019). Most of the requirements for the QAPI program will be implemented in Phase 3. However, centers must develop a QAPI Plan by phase II (Nov, 2017) and submit to the Survey Agency at their first annual recertification survey.  (this needs to be re-written- from AHCA Site)