Required activities

Providers who are required to participate in the quality improvement (QI) program are notified of their QI status when they receive their annual opioid prescribing report. 

Minnesota Department of Human Services (DHS) refined the quality improvement program requirements based on experience gained from the 2021 QI Project. The project requirements follow step-wise through the improvement model found in the ICSI Opioid Prescribing Quality Improvement Guide. Links to the required project forms are included in the step’s description. 

QI participants are encouraged to contact DHS at any time with questions about their data or the project. Consultations with DHS program and DHS’ clinical and quality improvement contractor are available by sending an email to dhs.opioid@state.mn.us.

2022 Quality improvement program requirements

Step 1: Understand the improvement opportunity 

• Review your 2021 DHS Opioid Prescribing Report provided either from DHS or your workplace
• Review the Sentinel opioid prescribing measures webpage for each measure where quality improvement participation is required. Common misconceptions about the measures limited participants’ success last year.

Step 2: Review standards of practice; identify challenges, barriers, stressors; choose a change

• Review the Community Standards of Practice (PDF) and additional guidelines, as needed
• Review and complete the Self-Assessment form for each measure where quality improvement is indicated and submit forms to DHS with the QI Plan in Step 3 by June 15, 2022.

Step 3: Plan the change

• Complete a QI Plan Form which addresses at least one of the measures where QI is indicated and submit to DHS by June 15, 2022. Participants must submit a self-assessment form for each measure where QI participation is required, but only one QI plan form is required. The QI plan must address at least one of the measures or pain phases where quality improvement is required.
• DHS will review the self-assessment(s) and the QI Plan to confirm that the QI project is associated with the measure or phase indicated. DHS will provide prompt feedback on the plan.

Step 4: Do the change; study the outcomes; sustain the improvements  

• Test your change, evaluate the outcomes and sustainability
• Submit a QI Evaluation Form to DHS by Nov. 1, 2022. DHS will provide feedback in early 2023. 

The 2022 QI program focuses on four of the seven OPIP sentinel measures: 

• Measure 2: Percent of index opioid prescriptions over the recommended dose (greater than 100 total MME for nonsurgical specialists; greater than 200 MME for surgical specialists)
• Measure 3: Percent of prescriptions in the post-acute pain period that meet or exceed 700 cumulative MME
• Measure 5: Percent of patients receiving chronic opioid analgesic therapy (COAT) greater than 90 MME per day
• Measure 6: Percent of COAT patients receiving concomitant benzodiazepines