The National Quality Forum (NQF) is examining important areas of quality measurement for the care of older Americans with both public- and private-sector support.
One example is a two-year NQF project to help develop an approach to assess the quality of home- and community-based services (HCBS), which are vital to promoting independence and wellness for people with long-term care needs. These services may be medical or non-medical, such as care with activities of daily living, e.g. bathing and grocery shopping, that enable people to remain in their homes. An NQF-convened committee has created a conceptual framework to assess the quality of HCBS and has identified measures and measure concepts to evaluate HCBS quality, as well as identify important measurement gaps. In a final report expected later this year, the committee will make recommendations on priorities for furthering HCBS quality measurement.
An NQF National Quality Partners (NQP) initiative is addressing the need to improve care for patients with advanced illness. Nine million Americans will be more than 85 years old by 2030, and many will suffer from multiple chronic conditions and substantial disability. The aim of advanced illness care is to ensure that these individuals receive coordinated care that honors their personal preferences, goals, and values. Supported in part by The Retirement Research Foundation, NQP recently began a project with the Coalition to Transform Advanced Care (C-TAC) that is bringing diverse stakeholders together to promote shared decision-making and goal-oriented care for the nation’s growing population of elderly adults with chronic conditions.
Through NQF’s Measure Incubator, NQF is working to address important measurement gaps in many areas of healthcare, such as needed measures for care of chronic conditions. One project underway in the Measure Incubator is the Mayo Clinic’s work with OptumLabs to develop phenotypes of patients with chronic conditions as a precursor to measure development for this complex population. Another project underway in the Measure Incubator is Minnesota Community Measurement’s work to develop a patient-reported outcome measure for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
NQF has been tapped to help advise Congress on how to improve healthcare provided to people living with chronic conditions. Specifically, NQF is providing input to the U.S. Senate Finance Committee’s Chronic Care Working Group, which is drafting legislation to improve care for Medicare beneficiaries with multiple chronic conditions.
NQF also has convened a new committee to evaluate measures related to palliative and end-of-life care. Consensus on endorsed measures that capture the important structure, processes and outcomes of palliative care will help improve access to these vital services as well as drive improvement. Learn more about the Palliative project and how you can get involved on NQF’s website.
“NQF’s initiatives, such as its work with C-TAC for persons with advanced illness, are bringing together health professionals, patient and family advocates, and other key stakeholders to address important healthcare issues for older Americans. This collective engagement is critical to making care better for our nation’s elderly,” said David Longnecker, MD, chief clinical innovations officer at C-TAC and co-chair of NQP’s advanced illness care action team.