Webinar Recording: From Annual Planning to Daily Execution - The Real QAPI Workflow

QAPI is a year-long process, not a quarterly task. In this joint webinar with MatrixCare and QAPIplus, we walk through what QAPI actually looks like across an entire year and how clinical data, when accessible and applied correctly, supports a more effective and manageable quality program.

You’ll learn how MatrixCare provides reliable access to clinical data and how QAPIplus helps apply that data across the QAPI lifecycle, from annual planning to daily execution. Together, we show how integrated workflows reduce manual work, support survey readiness, and turn QAPI into a proactive, ongoing process rather than a reactive reporting exercise.

This session is ideal for home health and hospice leaders looking to build a more structured, data-driven QAPI workflow without adding administrative burden.

Key Takeaways:

• Learn why QAPI often feels harder than it should and how disconnected systems create risk and burnout
• Understand what effective, year-round QAPI execution looks like in practice
• See how integrated clinical data supports daily execution, not just quarterly reporting
• Discover how modern QAPI workflows turn data into action, accountability, and readiness

WEBINAR TRANSCRIPT

INTRODUCTION

Katherine Songrant: Hello, and thank you for joining us today for our joint webinar with MatrixCare and QAPIplus.

Today’s session is titled From Annual Planning to Daily Execution: The Real QAPI Workflow.

My name is Katherine Songrant, and I’m the Marketing Specialist with MatrixCare. I’ll be your moderator for today’s session.

Before we get started, I’ll quickly introduce our speakers and walk through the agenda.

Our first speaker is Patrick O’Brien. Patrick is a nurse leader with more than 15 years of progressive leadership experience in home health and hospice. He has partnered with organizations ranging from small startup programs to large, multi-state agencies, helping teams build strong quality infrastructures. Patrick brings deep expertise in team training, operational leadership, and the development and management of effective Quality Assessment and Performance Improvement programs.

Our second speaker is Daniel Zhu. Daniel brings a diverse background in both clinical care and technology. He has led engineering and product teams and founded a natural language processing organization in the medical research space. Today, he is a product leader at MatrixCare, helping drive the evolution of the EHR through data, analytics, and machine learning.

Today’s agenda includes:

- Why clinical data is the foundation of QAPI and what meaningful integration looks like

- How to apply data across the QAPI cadence

- What a modern QAPI workflow looks like and the impact on teams and staffing

- Key takeaways and audience Q&A

With that, Patrick, I’ll turn it over to you.

WHY QAPI STILL FEELS HARD

Patrick O’Brien: Thank you, Katherine, and hello everyone. I hope you’re all doing well.

Let’s start with a simple question: why does QAPI still feel so hard?

A major reason is the disconnect between where data lives and where QAPI work happens. Clinical data lives in the EMR, but QAPI work often lives in spreadsheets, binders, and shared drives. That leaves quality teams manually stitching information together.

When clinical data and QAPI workflows live in separate systems, teams spend more time pulling reports, reconciling spreadsheets, and chasing information than they do improving performance.

Disconnected systems don’t just slow teams down. They delay insight. That delay makes it harder to identify risk early, increasing survey risk and operational exposure.

QAPI IS A YEAR-ROUND PROCESS

Patrick O’Brien: Another common misconception is that QAPI is a quarterly task. In reality, QAPI is a continuous cycle that unfolds every day.

Daily quality events feed weekly review. Weekly review supports monthly analysis. Monthly analysis informs quarterly quality meetings where trends are identified and action is taken. Those quarterly activities then support annual planning and reporting requirements.

The key point is this: QAPI happens every day. It doesn’t start and stop at the quarterly level.

CLINICAL DATA AS THE FOUNDATION OF QAPI

Daniel Zhu: If QAPI is something you have to think about every day, then clinical data is foundational to the process. And all of that data starts in the EMR.

Care teams document critical information during every visit. Each data point entered into the EMR can contain key indicators of clinical quality and organizational performance.

That data needs to feed day-to-day QAPI review and oversight processes. To do that effectively, the EMR must store information in a structured, accessible way and be able to share it with quality and compliance tools.

QAPI is a data-intensive process. While there are many tools that can simplify and automate QAPI, success depends on unrestricted, timely access to clinical data.

Put simply, if a clinician enters data into the EMR today, the QAPI team should be able to retrieve it for review, planning, and decision-making.

Clinical data flows into the EMR continuously, from care teams, intake processes, administrative workflows, and labs. While data is often called the next currency, many cloud-based systems make accessing that data more difficult than it should be.

Limited access can quickly become a bottleneck for analytics, QAPI oversight, and performance improvement initiatives. Effective QAPI requires timely access to complete, detailed data in an intelligent and usable format.

WHY MEANINGFUL INTEGRATION MATTERS

Daniel Zhu: Accessing data is only the first step. The next step is sharing that data with the tools and workflows where quality work actually happens, which is where integration comes in.

Not all integrations are created equal. They vary in security, depth of access, and how data moves between systems. Some rely on manual exports. Others automate specific workflows. The most effective integrations allow data to move securely and seamlessly between systems.

Because QAPI is inherently data-heavy, strong integrations are essential. They help prevent additional manual work, reduce stress for teams, and support proactive oversight instead of reactive cleanup.

A well-designed integration can mean the difference between adding cost and complexity or improving quality and reducing organizational risk.

APPLYING DATA ACROSS THE QAPI CADENCE

Patrick O’Brien: Let’s talk about what the QAPI cadence looks like in practice.

Daily: Daily quality activities often include incident reporting for falls, infections, and hospitalizations, clinical audits, and access to policies and procedures. These activities happen in real time and are often already part of daily workflows.

Weekly: Weekly review allows teams to start identifying early trends in incidents and audits. It’s also a key time for task monitoring. Who is responsible? Is work being completed? Do follow-ups need to occur? Timely visibility at the weekly level supports faster intervention and stronger follow-through.

Monthly: Monthly review is where quality is actively managed. By the end of the month, trends in incident data and audit results should be visible. Identifying issues early allows agencies to intervene before risks compound. Monthly activities also include tracking required staff education aligned with accrediting standards from The Joint Commission, ACHC, and CHAP.

Quarterly: Quarterly review provides a comprehensive view of performance. Incident data and audit results are aggregated, trends are reviewed, and interdisciplinary teams meet to identify areas of opportunity.

This is often where Performance Improvement Projects, or PIPs, are launched or updated. While PIPs can start at any time, quarterly review is a natural point to address larger, trend-based issues.

Annual: Annual QAPI requirements include quality plans, performance indicators, governing body approvals, and documentation showing that programs are reviewed and approved at appropriate intervals.

Annual oversight also extends to related programs such as infection control, emergency preparedness, and, for hospice organizations, volunteer and bereavement services.

CLOSING THE LOOP ON QAPI

Patrick O’Brien: Collecting data is only the first step. Data becomes valuable when it moves through a complete cycle: capture, analysis, and action.

The real power of QAPI is not in reporting data, but in using it to improve care, reduce risk, and support teams.

With integrated workflows, incident data can flow directly from the EMR into QAPIplus, providing real-time visibility. Clinical audits, task tracking, policy management, and training documentation can all be managed in one place.

At the quarterly level, automated reporting reduces manual work and allows teams to focus on review and improvement rather than report creation. PIPs can be launched, assigned, and tracked over time, supporting sustained improvement.

IMPACT ON TEAMS AND STAFFING

Patrick O’Brien: When data and QAPI workflows are connected, the burden on teams changes dramatically. Manual work decreases. Accountability becomes clearer. Quality oversight no longer depends on a single individual holding everything together.

Teams spend less time pushing numbers and more time improving performance. The result is a more sustainable model for quality and compliance staffing.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

QAPI is a year-round process, not a quarterly checkbox

Clinical data must be accessible and meaningfully integrated

Aligning data with QAPI workflows simplifies oversight and risk management

Structured workflows turn data into measurable outcomes

AUDIENCE Q&A (HIGHLIGHTS)

Is QAPIplus coming to skilled nursing facilities?
Yes. Expansion into skilled nursing is on the roadmap, following recent additions such as behavioral health.

Do you need to be a nurse to participate in QAPI?
No. QAPI is a team effort that includes clinicians, aides, social workers, administrative staff, and leadership.

Why track events like falls or infections?
Because issues can’t be improved if they aren’t measured. Tracking supports early intervention and risk reduction.

How often should QAPI data be reviewed?
Data can be reviewed daily, weekly, monthly, and quarterly, with comprehensive annual review.

CLOSING

Katherine Songrant: Thank you for joining us today. We hope this session provided practical insight into how QAPI can move from annual planning to daily execution. If you have follow-up questions or would like a demo, our teams will be happy to connect with you. Thank you again for your time.