OB COAP is a collaborative quality improvement program helping obstetrical care providers deliver optimum care to the childbearing people and the babies they take care of.

Following a long-standing successful model of clinician-led, data-driven quality improvement established under the Foundation for Health Care Quality, OB COAP utilizes clinical data from the medical record to evaluate the care given to pregnant persons during labor, delivery and the postpartum period as the basis for exploring actionable and sustainable improvements.  

OB COAP is open to any site delivering babies. Current participants include hospitals of all sizes and neonatal/maternal level of care in urban, suburban and rural locations, as well as community births planned in home or birth centers. The data collected allows for analysis of provider-specific decisions during labor, delivery and postpartum; the impact of factors such as patient risk, gynecological history, clinician type and environment on outcomes; and balancing measures that evaluate both the intended and unintended effects of changes in practice.  

The Foundation for Health Care Quality is a non-profit organization and participation in OB COAP is protected as a Certified Quality Improvement Program, making this a safe and neutral place for members to work on ensuring they maintain the highest quality of care for everyone they care for. 

BLACK LIVES MATTER

The Foundation for Health Care Quality and OB COAP stand against all forms of Anti-Black Racism. We are committed to address health inequities by taking active, anti-racist actions within our organization and in the services we provide. Immediate actions being taken by OB COAP include:

• Distributing site-level reports on health disparities in pregnancy care and outcomes by race and ethnicity to our member sites on an ongoing basis
• Public Reporting of aggregate OB COAP data demonstrating health disparities in pregnancy care and outcomes by race and ethnicity
• Actively and urgently pursuing greater diversity in the OB COAP Management and Research committees
• Establishing a committee dedicated to health inequities among racial groups in maternity care to advise and help direct the activities of OB COAP.
• Engaging racially diverse patient representatives in both the Management and Research committees and letting their voices help guide the priorities for quality improvement and research.
• posting the following statement regarding health equity and COVID 19 from the International Human Rights Network: COVID-19 and Human Rights

We stand with you as we move forward in changing the course of our society, and we welcome your input on additional actions you think we should be taking.