As the healthcare field increasingly focuses on quality measurement and improvement, measure developers have advocated for a more streamlined, flexible endorsement process that will help both NQF and the measurement community meet numerous, complex demands for new measures. As a result, NQF is considering restructuring its Consensus Development Process (CDP).
Specifically, the proposed two-stage process will provide early guidance to measure developers on whether a measure concept meets NQF's criterion for importance to measure and report before they invest time and resources in specifying and testing a measure. The process will offer measure developers earlier opportunities for feedback while refining a measure concept, and identify harmonization opportunities or competing measure issues at an early stage. The process will also provide more frequent endorsement cycles, giving measure developers greater flexibility in submitting fully developed and tested measures and enable NQF to be more responsive to the needs to other stakeholders such as implementers.
The restructured CDP is broken into two stages:
- Stage 1: Measure Concepts
Measure developers will have the opportunity to submit new measure concepts for approval by the NQF. New fully specified and tested measures, as well as maintenance measures will also be reviewed at the conceptual level in stage 1. During stage 1 concepts will be evaluated against the importance to measure and report criteria. Following a public comment period, measure concepts will be reviewed by the Consensus Standards Approval Committee (CSAC), with recommended concepts ultimately approved the Board. This process will provide measure developers with a measure concept that meets NQF's importance criteria and with concrete guidance on issues to consider during subsequent development and testing.
- Stage 2: Fully Specified and Tested Measures
Once a measure concept is approved, measure developers will have the opportunity to submit fully specified and tested measures for endorsement by the NQF Board. An appointed Steering Committee will evaluate measures against the remaining endorsement criteria – scientific acceptability, feasibility, and usability. Measures that are fully specified and tested or undergoing maintenance review that pass the importance criterion will move directly into the Stage 2 review. Following a public comment and voting period, measures will be reviewed by the CSAC, with satisfactory measures ultimately endorsed by the Board.
Learn more about the proposed two-stage CDP: Overview/fact sheet
NQF is actively seeking feedback on the proposed redesign; comments, questions, and suggestions are welcome, and may be submitted to Helen Burstin, Senior Vice President of Performance Measures, at hburstin@qualityforum.org.
