(1) Within one month of initiating an APRN practice involving direct patient care the APRN shall submit a quality assurance plan to the board.

(2) A quality assurance plan includes the following elements:

(a) location of the APRN's practice site(s);

(b) identification of the APRN's peer-reviewer or peer review organization. Peer review must occur on a quarterly basis and include review of 15 charts or 5 percent of all charts handled by the APRN, whichever is fewer. The peer-reviewer must work in the same practice specialty as the APRN and must hold an unencumbered license. If the APRN has prescriptive authority, the peer-reviewer must also have prescriptive authority;

(c) standards of practice set by the APRN's national professional organization, which the peer-reviewer will use to evaluate the APRN's practice;

(d) criteria for client referrals, patient outcomes, and chart documentation set by the APRN's national professional organization that the peer-reviewer will use to evaluate the APRN's practice; and

(e) description of the method the peer-reviewer will use to address areas in need of attention or improvement, if indicated, and to ensure follow-up evaluation.

(3) By December 31 of each license renewal year, the APRN shall submit a quality assurance report to the board on the form provided by the department. The biennial quality assurance report shall:

(a) provide verification that each quarterly peer review has occurred;

(b) provide verification that area(s) identified by the peer reviewer as needing attention and improvement have been appropriately addressed according to the APRN's stated plan; and

(c) inform the board of any change in the location of the APRN's practice site(s), the identity of the peer-reviewer, or the quality assurance criteria established by the national professional organization in the APRN's specialty area of practice.