Transforming organ procurement: How iQIES is driving smarter, faster transplant outcomes
Every 10 minutes, a new name is added to the national transplant waiting list. Every day, 17 people die waiting for a life-saving organ. The need is urgent—and the system must evolve to meet it.
Organ Procurement Organizations (OPOs) serve as the backbone of this effort, but outdated systems and performance gaps have limited their impact. That’s changing. CMS is now integrating OPOs into the Internet Quality Improvement and Evaluation System (iQIES)—a major step toward unlocking real-time data, standardizing performance, and driving better outcomes. With ICF’s support, this move promises a more transparent, accountable, and effective national transplant system.
The challenge: A critical system held back by legacy technology
Organ Procurement Organizations (OPOs) are essential to saving lives—tasked with recovering organs from deceased donors and ensuring their timely, equitable distribution nationwide. But across the 56 CMS-certified OPOs, performance varies widely. These inconsistencies have led to unequal access and missed opportunities to save more lives.
To address this, CMS introduced updated Conditions for Coverage (CfCs) in 2020, requiring OPOs to shift from self-reported metrics to transparent, data-driven performance standards. But even with stronger oversight, the systems underpinning this data are stuck in the past. Many OPOs still rely on outdated platforms—some so old they require transferring data by thumb drive. This fragmentation makes it nearly impossible to gather real-time insights or scale proven practices across the system.
It’s not just a tech gap—it’s a barrier to better outcomes.
iQIES: A modern platform for lifesaving performance
Outdated, disconnected systems have long held back the nation’s ability to track and improve organ procurement. iQIES is changing that. This cloud-based, user-friendly platform—developed with support from ICF—is now expanding to include OPOs, replacing decades-old, desktop-bound processes with a centralized, modern solution.
“Far too many donated organs never reach the patients whose lives depend on them. That’s why we’re partnering closely with CMS to transform OPO oversight—driving bold, systemic change. By harnessing the power of innovation and technology, we’re not just improving processes—we’re reimagining what’s possible in organ transplantation to save more lives and ensure no opportunity to heal is ever lost.”
By integrating OPO oversight into iQIES, CMS is enabling real-time data sharing, smarter oversight, and faster decision-making. Instead of manually transferring files, agencies and providers can act on insights as they emerge—improving both efficiency and impact.
Key upgrades include:
- Donation Service Area (DSA) mapping: Standardizes DSA data across the country to drive consistency and accountability.
- Performance tier designation: Categorizes OPOs by performance using transparent, data-driven metrics—encouraging improvement and benchmarking.
- Automated survey scheduling: Tracks deadlines and requirements in real time, reducing administrative burden and helping OPOs stay in compliance.
- Certification and decertification tracking: Streamlines compliance monitoring and appeals, giving CMS a clearer view of operational standards.
- Hospital waiver management: Digitizes a historically manual process to improve accuracy and oversight.
With these tools, CMS is positioned to set a new standard for organ procurement—one rooted in data, transparency, and results.
What better looks like: The impact of iQIES integration
By bringing OPO oversight into iQIES, CMS is setting the stage for faster decisions, better data, and stronger transplant outcomes. ICF’s integration work is expected to unlock a range of high-impact benefits:
- Greater transparency: Standardized, real-time data collection gives CMS clearer visibility into OPO performance—making it easier to identify gaps and target improvements where they matter most.
- Faster, smarter oversight: iQIES simplifies every step of the audit process. Instead of toggling between spreadsheets and outdated applications, auditors can now view performance tiers directly within their workflow—cutting friction and improving consistency.
- Improved decision-making: With all evaluation data centralized, CMS staff no longer need to hunt across multiple systems. That means faster responses, quicker interventions, and more effective oversight.
- Higher adoption through better design: A human-centered interface makes the platform intuitive to use, encouraging faster onboarding and broader uptake among OPO staff and CMS reviewers alike.
- Cost and resource efficiency: Retiring legacy systems reduces maintenance costs, while streamlined processes cut down on administrative overhead—freeing resources for higher-value work.
- Better outcomes for patients: When OPOs can work more efficiently, more organs reach patients faster. For those with chronic conditions like end-stage renal disease, that means shorter wait times, more successful transplants, and more lives saved.
These improvements directly support CMS’s goals to deliver higher-quality care, improve health equity, and ensure taxpayer dollars are used effectively.
What’s next: Turning oversight into impact
The message from federal leadership is clear: business as usual won’t save lives. With thousands still waiting for transplants and billions in taxpayer dollars on the line, integrating OPOs into iQIES is a pivotal move toward smarter oversight, stronger accountability, and real results.
iQIES provides the infrastructure to see what’s working, fix what’s not, and scale what works. CMS isn’t just modernizing a system—it’s raising the standard for how federal health IT can drive measurable impact.
Technology alone won’t transform organ procurement—but it can reveal where change is needed most. This integration creates a more transparent, performance-driven system that helps ensure federal investments lead to more transplants, fewer delays, and better care for patients with chronic diseases.
At ICF, we’re proud to help CMS lead this change. Because when better data meets bold leadership, transformation isn’t just possible—it’s already underway.
