NPRQI Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

What is the National Pediatric Readiness Quality Initiative (NPRQI)?

• NPRQI is a national quality improvement platform that helps emergency departments (EDs) measure, reflect, and improve their pediatric emergency care. NPRQI’s data visualization tools allow EDs to assess and benchmark performance while tracking improvements over time.
• Learn more

Is NPRQI a research database or a payor dataset?

• No, NPRQI is neither a research database nor a payor source (not intended for insurance or billing) database. It’s designed for quality improvement, benchmarking, and empowering EDs to improve their Pediatric Readiness.

Does NPRQI provide clinical guidelines?

• NPRQI does not develop its own guidelines, but links to evidence-based resources and best practices relevant to pediatric emergency care.

Was NPRQI reviewed by an Institutional Review Board (IRB)?

• Yes, the University of Texas at Austin IRB has reviewed this initiative in full and determined the project to be exempt from human subject research.

Is NPRQI data protected under a Patient Safety Organization (PSO)?

• Yes. Data entered into NPRQI is protected under a PSO, which ensures confidentiality and federal protections for quality improvement work. Learn more about PSO protections.
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Who can participate in NPRQI?

• NPRQI was specifically designed for rural, low-pediatric-volume, and low-resourced EDs. However, all EDs, regardless of pediatric patient volume or location, are welcome to participate. Individual clinicians cannot enroll directly, but may participate through their hospital.

How do I register my site for NPRQI?

• Follow the steps on the NPRQI Enrollment page and review the registration checklist.

How do I access and use the NPRQI platform?

• Before receiving access, all registered EDs must have an executed participant organization agreement (POA). All fully registered NPRQI users will receive an email inviting them to establish secure login credentials along with a link to access the platform.

Who needs to sign the Participant Organization Agreement (POA)?

• An authorized hospital official, such as a CEO, CNO, ED Director, or equivalent, must sign. The authorized signatory will vary for each ED.

Can I access the platform before the POA is signed?

• No, access is granted only after the POA is executed.

Can the POA be modified?

• No, the POA must be signed as provided to maintain uniform protections.

Is the POA considered a Master Services Agreement (MSA)?

• No, the POA is a participation agreement specific to NPRQI.

What is the data entry process?

• Data is entered manually by each user. The following steps will help you get started:
  • Obtain a list of all pediatric patients from the past year (January-December), organized by date and time
  • Determine a data sampling strategy (recommend systematic)
  • Develop a Subject ID Log to internally track all patient encounters entered into the platform
  • Begin entering initial baseline data (30 charts)
  • To optimize the benefits of the NPRQI platform, we recommend patient encounters be entered at regular intervals, depending on each ED's bandwidth/resources and patient volume.

Do multi-site health systems need a separate POA for each location?

• Yes, each physical location must have its own POA, even within the same health system.

Can health systems access site data?

• Yes, EDs must first establish appropriate permissions for system-level access. Each health system is also required to register for NPRQI and submit a POA before accessing its health system’s performance.

What is the cost to participate?

• Participation is free for eligible EDs.

What is the time commitment?

• The time EDs spend using NPRQI varies based on their available resources. On average, most EDs dedicate 2-6 hours per month to enter data and track performance.

What are the benefits for EDs?

• NPRQI improves pediatric outcomes by providing performance benchmarking, PSO protections, and access to QI resources. It also minimizes risk and liability, supports compliance and recognition, and offers data-driven insights that align with regulatory standards. Physicians can also earn MOC Part IV credit.
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Can I participate in the 2026 EMSC NPRQI Collaborative?

• Yes, any ED fully registered for NPRQI can join the collaborative when registration opens.
• Learn more

How secure is the NPRQI platform?

• The platform uses secure, encrypted data transfer and is hosted in a HIPAA-compliant environment.
• Read our data security and confidentiality statement.

What happens to the data if our hospital leaves the project?

• If your site decides to end participation, NPRQI either returns your data set or securely deletes it, depending on your preference. Data is not retained beyond the end of your participation or the completion of the project.
• For full details, please refer to Section VIII (Term, Termination, and Disposition of Data Set) in the POA.

What is the architecture of the NPRQI data platform?

• The NPRQI platform, called Nexus, is a modern, cloud-based system developed and hosted by the University of Texas at Austin.
• It's accessible through a secure web interface, and access is granted only after user authentication.
• Data entered into the platform is processed, stored, and managed tos upport QI activities across participating EDs.

How is the data stored and protected within the NPRQI platform?

• The Nexus platform is a secure, cloud-based system that follows industry-standard encryption and strict Standard Operating Procedures for handling data throughout the program lifecycle.
• All data is encrypted both in transit and at rest using 256-bit encryption per National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) standards.
• User authentication is managed through Active Directory Federation Services (ADFS), Single Sign-On (SSO), and Active Directory (AD), with secure Virtual Private Network (VPN) tunnels.
• The Nexus architecture is designed to ensure that only authorized users can perform operations within the system. Its security posture includes:
  • Continuous monitoring to detect potential system or user anomalies.
  • Business continuity and disaster recovery capabilities across geographically dispersed cloud networks.
  • Built-in data redundancy between front- and back-end systems.

What are the 28 Clinical Quality Measures?

• The measures focus on seven common pediatric conditions and readiness domains.
• See all 28 measures.

How were the measures developed?

• The measures were created by a national expert panel based on evidence, feasibility, and alignment with Pediatric Readiness priorities.
• Read the publication.

Are there performance benchmarks?

• Yes, EDs can compare their performance to similar pediatric patient volume EDs as well as the aggregated national performance.

What is the purpose of the National Pediatric Readiness Project (NPRP) assessment?

• The NPRP assessment measures a hospital’s Pediatric Readiness and identifies opportunities for improvement.
• Learn more about NPRP.

Where can I find the Pediatric Readiness toolkit?

• The toolkit is available here.

What is Quality Improvement and why is it important?

• Quality Improvement is a structured, data-driven process to improve care. It is essential for becoming fully pediatric-ready.
• Learn about QI.

What type of information is collected by NPRQI?

• NPRQI collects information on all four phases of care: assessment, diagnostic, intervention, and disposition. You can review the Record Entry Form to see all the questions in the data portal.
• Learn more

How many charts must my ED enter?

• NPRQI does not require any minimum number of charts for participation. However, we recommend entering approximately 30 charts to establish an initial baseline performance.
• For ongoing data collection, NPRQI suggests that you enter as many charts as you think are feasible.
• Many of our participating EDs enter 10 patient encounters per month.

Who has access to my data?

• Registered users with your ED will have access to your ED's data and performance.

What additional support does NPRQI offer participating EDs?

• NPRQI hosts “Office Hours” twice a month. EDs can register for 1:1 technical assistance with: getting started using NPRQI, unlocking insights from the performance dashboard, identifying high-impact areas for focus, and tailored QI coaching and intervention strategies.