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VRQC offers confidential, unbiased, customized site visits led by a multidisciplinary care team, including ACOG Fellows, who provide a comprehensive assessment of your facility’s obstetrics and gynecology department. Whether your hospital is large or small, urban or rural, academic or community-based, we can assess the quality of care that is provided and propose recommendations for improvement. 

Potential benefits of the service include:

  • Identifying issues underlying adverse events
  • Improving teamwork and trust
  • Enhancing patient-centered care and outcomes
  • Bettering your position for value-based payments
  • Reducing the risk of malpractice claims

Frequently addressed issues

Clinical

  • Poor management of induction of labor
  • Poor physician practice patterns
  • Poor interpretation of fetal heart tracing
  • Poor management decisions for cesarean birth
  • Hysterectomy performed despite incomplete workup
  • Inappropriate medication use (eg, oxytocin)
  • Lack of adherence to guidelines

Systems, Leadership, and Communication

  • Lack of department leadership or structure
  • Inadequate nurse staffing
  • Increase or decrease in size or services provided
  • Lack of effective quality assessment process
  • Lack of effective peer review
  • Policies and procedures are not current
  • Poor documentation of clinical reasoning

Access and print out our VRQC brochure containing additional details.

The Process

A visit lasts four days. Practicing obstetrician–gynecologists and nurses (additional reviewers may include CNMs, anesthesiologists, or family physicians) with quality review expertise assess the facility through a tour, staff interviews, and review of medical records. Reviewers conduct the evaluation using evidence-based ACOG guidelines and provide a final report with findings, actionable recommendations, and ACOG resources. Below is an outline of the site visit schedule:

  • Day One
    • Hospital tour
    • Entrance conference
    • EMR orientation
  • Day Two
    • Confirmation of charts for review
    • Interviews (20 minutes each)
  • Day Three
    • Log into EMR/review navigation
    • Chart reviews
    • Final team meeting
  • Day Four
    • Exit conference

Remote Visit Options

Due to COVID-19 considerations, the VRQC program is offering virtual reviews at this time. If you’re interested in a fully remote visit, please let us know by completing this interest form.

Cost

The team composition and fee for a VRQC site visit are based on Levels of Maternal Care.

  • A deposit toward the total fee is payable at the time of application
  • Payment includes all program administrative costs
  • For more information about cost, please fill out this confidential interest inquiry

What You Need to Do

Following a request for a site visit, the hospital will be asked to:

  • Sign a business agreement
  • Submit demographic and clinical data for the department and for each health care professional (obstetrician–gynecologists and CNMs)
  • Pay a deposit

If you want to request a VRQC visit or have any questions, please submit an inquiry.

If you have any other questions, please contact us at [email protected].