What career is this?

There are different jobs that would participate in this. Some facilities have in house staff that serve as QI or compliance people. The degrees and background of these folks is varied. Sometimes they start out being clinicians, and transfer over to QI roles, and sometimes they start out in some type of management. Typically QI would be only one aspect of a larger job. There are also state surveyors that inspect facilities to make sure that they comply with Medicare/Medicaid and state regulations. Those folks are very often nurses, but sometimes other types of clinicians who have some additional training in state and federal requirements. There are also outside bodies that accredit facilities through inspections, such as JCAHO. Surveyors there have varied backgrounds depending on what area they are responsible for - some are physicians and nurses, and some have training in related areas, such as those that work with equipment companies. There is no one job title or one specific answer to your question. You can become a physician, nurse, or rehab professional and have this type of role, or you can have experience working with the equipment side of the industry as well. Pay would vary wildly depending on training and the other responsibilities you would have to attend to.