Endorsing Preferred Practices and Performance Measures for Measuring and Reporting Care Coordination
Current Activity:
The Opportunity
Care coordination helps ensure a patient’s needs and preferences for care are understood, and that those needs and preferences are shared between providers, patients, and families as a patient moves from one healthcare setting to another. Care among many different providers must be well-coordinated to avoid waste, over-, under-, or misuse of prescribed medications, and conflicting plans of care. 1
A portfolio of care coordination preferred practices and performance measures includes structure, process, and outcome measures to evaluate physician office capacity for access, continuity, communication, and tracking of patients across providers and settings. Given the high-risk nature of transitions in care, this work built on ongoing efforts among the medical and surgical specialty societies to establish principles for effective patient hand-offs across clinicians and providers.
Statistics
People with chronic conditions, like diabetes or hypertension, often receive care in multiple settings from numerous providers – they may see up to 16 physicians a year. 1
By 2020, it is expected that 157 million people in the United States will be living with at least one chronic illness, a number that is expected to grow to 157 million by 2020. The number of individuals with multiple chronic conditions is expected to reach 81 million by 2020. 2
About the Project
In May 2006, NQF endorsed a definition and framework for care coordination. NQF has defined care coordination as a “function that helps ensure that the patient’s needs and preferences for health services and information sharing across people, functions, and sites are met over time.” In September 2010, NQF endorsed 10 performance measures and 24 preferred practices for care coordination.
Objectives
This project sought to endorse a set of preferred practices and performance measures in care coordination that are applicable across all settings of care.
Process
Candidate practices and measures were considered for NQF endorsement as national voluntary consensus standards. Agreement was developed through NQF’s Consensus Development Process (CDP, version 1.8). This project involved the active participation of representatives from across the spectrum of healthcare stakeholders and was guided by a steering committee (PDF).
Funding
Support for this project was provided by the WellPoint Foundation, Inc., Sanofi-aventis, and US Department of Veterans Affairs.
Related NQF Work
NQF-Endorsed® Definition and Framework for Measuring Care Coordination (2006) 3 (PDF)
Contact Information
If you have questions regarding this project, please contact Nicole W. McElveen, MPH, at 202-783-1300 or carecoordination@qualityforum.org.
Notes
- Bodenheimer, T, Coordinating Care – A Perilous Journey through the Health Care System, New England Journal of Medicine, March 6, 2008; 358:1064-71.
- Bodenheimer, T, Coordinating Care – A Perilous Journey through the Health Care System, New England Journal of Medicine, March 6, 2008; 358:1064-71.
- Endorsed in May 2006, as part of phase 3, cycle 1 of NQF’s ambulatory care project.
This project sought to endorse a set of preferred practices and
performance measures in care coordination that are applicable across all
settings of care.
A Steering Committee of 27 people representing a full range of stakeholder perspectives was formed according to NQF's Consensus Development Process.
Steering Committee Roster (PDF)
Co-chairs:
Donald Casey, Jr., MBA, MD, MPH, FACP, Atlantic Health, Morristown, NJ
Gerri Lamb, PhD, RN, Emory University Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing, Atlanta, GA
For additional information on the Steering Committee formation process, including specific information on conflicts of interest and required time commitment, please refer to the Call for Nominations document.
Call for Nominations (Word)
NQF first called for candidate preferred practices in December 2008, then called for candidate performance measures in March 2009. Seven practices were submitted by January 13, 2009, and by April 17, seven different developers had proposed 77 measures.
The call for practices originally scheduled for December 1, 2008 through December 30, 2008, was extended to end on January 13, 2009.
Table of Submitted Practices (Word)
The Steering Committee first convened on December 31, 2008, and met through September 2009 to evaluate submissions and prepare the draft report.
The Steering Committee met in person for two days to kick off the review of candidate practices.
January 27-28 Audience Packet (PDF) - Agenda, Project Background, Tentative Timeline, Steering Committee Roster
The Steering Committee convened to introduce members and review the scope of the project, the work plan, and the proposed timeline.
The Steering Committee met by conference call. The main agenda item was the review of candidate practices.
Meeting Minutes (PDF)
The Steering Committee met by conference call for an overview of measure submissions.
Meeting Minutes (PDF)
The Steering Committee met by conference call to continue its work reviewing candidate measures and practices.
Meeting Minutes (PDF)
The Steering Committee met by conference call to continue its work reviewing candidate measures and practices.
Agenda (PDF)
The Steering Committee met in person for two days to evaluate and recommend the candidate measures.
Audience Packet (PDF) - Agenda, Framework, NPP Goals, Table of Measures
Meeting Minutes (Revised) (PDF)
The Steering Committee met by conference call to continue its work reviewing candidate measures and practices.
Agenda (PDF)
The Steering Committee met by conference call to continue its work reviewing candidate measures and practices.
Agenda (PDF)
The Steering Committee met by conference call to continue its work reviewing candidate measures and practices.
Agenda (PDF)
The Steering Committee met by conference call to continue its work reviewing candidate measures and practices.
Agenda (PDF)
The Steering Committee met by conference call to continue its work reviewing candidate measures and practices.
Agenda (PDF)
The Steering Committee met by conference call to continue its work reviewing candidate measures and practices.
Agenda (PDF)
The member voting period closed on January 19, 2010.
CSAC met on February 11, 2010 via conference call to consider endorsement of Care Coordination practices and measures. Agenda (PDF)
CSAC convened for an in-person meeting on July
14, 2010 and re-considered the endorsement of the Care Coordination Preferred
Practice 21. Agenda (PDF)
The public had 30 days to appeal the final decision to endorse a voluntary consensus standard. The appeals period closed on October 26, 2010. No appeals were filed at this time.
