A MAWS Member’s Guide to the MAWS Quality Management Program: Incident & Peer Reviews
Regular engagement in reflective self and peer evaluation is a public demonstration of the midwifery profession's commitment to providing safe, responsible, family-centered maternity care. The Quality Management Program (QMP) is state sanctioned and legally protected by WAC 246-834-360. It was established by MAWS in 2003 with the aim of furthering the autonomy of the midwifery profession and improving practice and outcomes, and is administered by the QMP committee. The protected space of Peer Review and Incident Review enables midwives to freely discuss clinical cases with their peers, safe from subpoena or legal inquiry.
The two branches of the QMP program provide mechanisms for quality improvement:
The Quality Management Program (QMP) exists to:
As of 2019, MAWS is pleased to announce three changes to Peer Review and Incident Review which will streamline both processes.
The two branches of the QMP program provide mechanisms for quality improvement:
- a) Peer Review which each midwife must complete every two years with at least three other professional MAWS members (professional MAWS members must be WA State Licensed Midwives), and
- b) Incident Review which is organized by the QMP committee and is conducted by a specially convened panel whenever an outcome occurs which meets “Sentinel Event” criteria (see below).
The Quality Management Program (QMP) exists to:
- Help midwives improve their practice
- Help improve future outcomes
- Create a safe forum for discussion of clinical cases
- Generate ideas directly from the membership for continuing education
As of 2019, MAWS is pleased to announce three changes to Peer Review and Incident Review which will streamline both processes.
- Midwives need no longer get prior approval from the Peer Review Coordinator before conducting Peer Review. Instead, the Peer Review leader will verify participants’ current MAWS membership status through Wild Apricot and attest to this in the Aggregate Data Form (see below). Midwives whose memberships have lapsed can renew through Wild Apricot, effective immediately, and then proceed with Peer Review.
- All QMP documents including both Peer Review and Incident Review should be faxed through the secure fax number: 1-206-691-8203. Documents received through USPS to the following address: MAWS attn QMP, 16904 Juanita Drive NE #203 Kenmore, WA 98028 will still be received, but there may be delays in processing.
- Students midwives are now allowed to participate in Peer Review if they are:
- A MAWS member
- Accompanied by their precepting midwife
- Approved by all midwives who will be part of the Peer Review
Responsibilities of MAWS Professional Members
As MAWS members, we all have a shared responsibility to:
Click the button below for paperwork and instructions for filing Self-Reports and to organize a MAWS Peer Review.
As MAWS members, we all have a shared responsibility to:
- Agree to participate as a panelist on an Incident Review Panel when called upon to do so
- Maintain strict confidentiality whenever participating in Peer Review or on an Incident Review Panel
- Turn in a Self-Report to the QMP within 14 days if any of the following “Sentinel Events” occur. If you are uncertain about whether a serious event meets criteria for an Incident Review, please submit one. You can view a sample Self-Report form here.
Sentinel Events:- Maternal Mortality
- Perinatal Mortality
- Maternal shock or ICU admit
- Uterine rupture
- Maternal/neonatal seizure
- Uterine inversion
- NICU or Special care nursery admissions within 72 hours of birth (except for observation &/or congenital anomalies)
- Participate in a MAWS Peer Review: MAWS members are required to complete Peer Review of 5 charts every 2 years, in alignment with Washington State’s new Peer Review requirement for licensure
Click the button below for paperwork and instructions for filing Self-Reports and to organize a MAWS Peer Review.
Please contact us if you have questions:
Incident Review and general QMP correspondence: QMP@washingtonmidwives.org
Peer Review: MAWSPeerReview@gmail.com
OR FAX to the QMP at: 1-206-691-8203
How to File a Complaint
MAWS is aware that some healthcare providers, consumers, or family members may have concerns about the care provided by a Licensed Midwife who is also a MAWS member. Any patient, client, family member, healthcare provider, allied birth professional, or facility may file a complaint against one of our midwives to the Quality Management Program (QMP). Click here to download the Complaint Form. Please be aware that a review of the event in question requires contacting the midwife and reviewing the chart notes, and therefore we cannot maintain client anonymity. The QMP upholds the highest standards of confidentiality and safety. Because of this very commitment to confidentiality, complainants will not receive any information about the results of such a review.
Once a complaint is received, the QMP Committee reviews the information and begins a review if the case meets criteria for investigation. Review panels are convened and the findings are reported back to the MAWS QMP committee. If any laws have been broken we are obligated to notify the Department of Health.
As a statewide midwifery organization, we appreciate your feedback in order to identify practice trends or any gaps in education. We organize annual Continuing Education Conferences for our members based partly on incident and peer review data. MAWS members are committed to the continuous improvement of maternity care services in Washington State.
Once a complaint is received, the QMP Committee reviews the information and begins a review if the case meets criteria for investigation. Review panels are convened and the findings are reported back to the MAWS QMP committee. If any laws have been broken we are obligated to notify the Department of Health.
As a statewide midwifery organization, we appreciate your feedback in order to identify practice trends or any gaps in education. We organize annual Continuing Education Conferences for our members based partly on incident and peer review data. MAWS members are committed to the continuous improvement of maternity care services in Washington State.