Monitoring and Assessing the Use of External Quality Review Organizations to Improve Services for Young Children: A Toolkit for State Medicaid Agencies.

Federal regulations encourage state Medicaid agencies to use external quality review organizations (EQROs) to help implement strategies for assessing and improving the quality of medical services provided to beneficiaries enrolled in managed care plans. However, many states have not availed themselves of this opportunity and may lack guidance on how to do so. This report provides agencies with specifications for developing a scope of work that will lead to conceptually and methodologically sound studies of the quality of preventive and developmental services for young children enrolled in Medicaid. Among other recommendations, the authors outline strategies for states to contract with EQROs to conduct performance measurement and quality improvement projects that focus directly on improving the quality of preventive and developmental services.