Great News-Palliative Care Measure Pass 1st Round at NQF!

At the 2/18 NQF Geriatrics and Palliative Care Standing Committee measure evaluation meeting, three measures were considered for review and approval. The field (AAHPM, RAND and the Coalition) has been working under a federal CMS grant to create the first two patient reported experience palliative care measures: The “Ambulatory Palliative Care Patients’ Experience of Feeling Heard and Understood” and “Ambulatory Palliative Care Patients’ Experience of Receiving Desired Help for Pain” measures were recommended for NWQ endorsement by the NQF Standing Committee. The measures still require final NQF approval as outlined in the NQF endorsement process (approval by the Consensus Standards Approval Committee) is still required. However, passing through the Standing Committee is a significant milestone. Comments heard during this public meeting re: these measures included, “It’s about time we have measures from the patient voice – the patient experience” and “thank you to the measure developers for creating these very much needed measures.” The Coalition was a proud collaborative partner on this project.

NQF now has an Open Comment period for NQF Members through April 29th. The Coalition encourage stakeholders (organizations and individuals) to comment regarding the usefulness and utility of these measures.