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 a state sanctioned and legally protected program, established by MAWS in 2003 and administered by the QMP committee, whereby midwives can, in confidence, freely discuss and be supportively evaluated by a group of their peer midwives, safe from subpoena or legal inquiry. The protected safe space of Peer Review and Incident Review enables midwives to freely discuss clinical cases with their peers providing them with an opportunity to improve their practice and future outcomes.
Two branches of the QMP program provide mechanisms for quality improvement:
Two branches of the QMP program provide mechanisms for quality improvement:
- a) Peer Review which each midwife must complete on a regular basis 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.
- 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
Responsibilities of MAWS Professional Members
The QMP cannot function without your help. As MAWS members, we all have a shared responsibility to:
You can download our Self-Report Form here. Please print, fill it out, and mail to the QMP. Please send all correspondence to: Quality Management Program c/o MAWS at the address listed on the MAWS Contact Us webpage.
Conduct a Peer Review
If you are a MAWS member in need of a Peer Review, organize one! Now anyone can organize a Peer Review as long as they:
1. Are a current MAWS member.
2. Have participated in at least one Peer Review before.
3. Contact MAWS Peer Review in order to receive all of the necessary, updated, and official paperwork and verify the member status of participants (as every midwife who participates in your Peer Review MUST be a current MAWS member).
The QMP cannot function without your help. 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 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 write to us at qmp@washingtonmidwives.org.
Sentinel Events:- Maternal Mortality
- Perinatal Mortality
- Maternal shock
- Uterine rupture
- Maternal/neonatal seizure
- Uterine inversion
- NICU or Special care nursery admissions within 72 hours of birth (except for observation &/or congenital anomalies)
You can download our Self-Report Form here. Please print, fill it out, and mail to the QMP. Please send all correspondence to: Quality Management Program c/o MAWS at the address listed on the MAWS Contact Us webpage.
Conduct a Peer Review
If you are a MAWS member in need of a Peer Review, organize one! Now anyone can organize a Peer Review as long as they:
1. Are a current MAWS member.
2. Have participated in at least one Peer Review before.
3. Contact MAWS Peer Review in order to receive all of the necessary, updated, and official paperwork and verify the member status of participants (as every midwife who participates in your Peer Review MUST be a current MAWS member).
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.
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.