# N.D. Cent. Code § 26.1-18.1-06: 26.1-18.1-06. Quality assurance program

> North Dakota · Statutes · In force

URL: https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/statutes/STATE_ND_T26.1_C26.1-18.1_S26.1-18.1-06

## Section

- **Citation:** N.D. Cent. Code § 26.1-18.1-06
- **Heading:** 26.1-18.1-06. Quality assurance program
- **Jurisdiction:** North Dakota
- **Kind:** Statutes
- **Status:** In force
- **Text as of:** August 14, 2026
- **Source:** Compiled text
- **Location:** ND Code / Title 26.1 / Chapter 26.1-18.1 / Section 26.1-18.1-06

## Text

26.1-18.1-06. Quality assurance program

1. The health maintenance organization shall establish procedures to assure that the

health care services provided to enrollees will be rendered under reasonable

standards of quality of care consistent with prevailing professionally recognized

standards of medical practice. The procedures must include mechanisms to assure

availability, accessibility, and continuity of care.

2. The health maintenance organization must have an ongoing internal quality assurance

program to monitor and evaluate its health care services, including primary and

specialist physician services, and ancillary and preventive health care services, across

all institutional and noninstitutional settings. The program must include, at a minimum,

the following:

a. A written statement of goals and objectives which emphasizes improved health

status in evaluating the quality of care rendered to enrollees.

b. A written quality assurance plan which describes the following:

(1) The health maintenance organization's scope and purpose in quality

assurance.

(2) The organizational structure responsible for quality assurance activities.

(3) Contractual arrangements, when appropriate, for delegation of quality

assurance activities.

(4) Confidentiality policies and procedures.

(5) A system of ongoing evaluation activities.

(6) A system of focused evaluation activities.

(7) A system for credentialing providers and performing peer review activities.

(8) Duties and responsibilities of the designated physician responsible for the

quality assurance activities.

c. A written statement describing the system of ongoing quality assurance activities,

including:

(1) Problem assessment, identification, selection, and study.

(2) Corrective action, monitoring, evaluation, and reassessment.

(3) Interpretation and analysis of patterns of care rendered to individual patients

by individual providers.

d. A written statement describing the system of focused quality assurance activities

based on representative samples of the enrolled population which identifies

method of topic selection, study, data collection, analysis, interpretation, and

report format.

e. Written plans for taking appropriate corrective action whenever, as determined by

the quality assurance program, inappropriate or substandard services have been

provided or services which should have been furnished have not been provided.

3. The organization shall record proceedings of formal quality assurance program

activities and maintain documentation in a confidential manner. Quality assurance

program minutes must be available to the commissioner.

4. The organization shall ensure the use and maintenance of an adequate patient record

system which will facilitate documentation and retrieval of clinical information for the

purpose of the health maintenance organization evaluating continuity and coordination

of patient care and assessing the quality of health and medical care provided to

enrollees.

5. Enrollee clinical records must be available to the commissioner or an authorized

designee for examination and review to ascertain compliance with this section, or as

deemed necessary by the commissioner. The clinical records are confidential and are

not subject to section 44-04-18, except upon written consent for disclosure by the

enrollee or the enrollee's authorized representative.

6. The organization shall establish a mechanism for periodic reporting of quality

assurance program activities to the governing body, providers, and appropriate

organization staff.

## Nearby sections

- [N.D. Cent. Code § 26.1-18.1-01 26.1-18.1-01. Definitions](https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/statutes/STATE_ND_T26.1_C26.1-18.1_S26.1-18.1-01.md)
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Source: Frix Law Library, https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/statutes/STATE_ND_T26.1_C26.1-18.1_S26.1-18.1-06. Check the current official text before relying on it. Not legal advice.
