NQF Removes Time-Limited Endorsement for Four Measures; Measures Now Have Endorsed Status 

Washington, DC - the National Quality Forum (NQF) Board of Directors has removed time-limited endorsement status from four measures focused on psychosocial functioning in children and adolescents, participation in a national dose index registry, and diagnostic evaluation and suicide risk assessment for children and adolescents with major depressive disorders.

NQF time-limited endorsement is applied to measures that meet all of NQF’s endorsement criteria with the exception of field testing and are critical to advancing quality improvement. When measures are granted this two-year endorsement rather than the traditional three year period, measure developers must test the measure and return results to NQF within the two-year window.

The statuses of the measures were removed after the Board determined field testing results adequately addressed endorsement considerations including reliability and validity, and that there were no unintended consequences or patient harm as a result of measure testing and implementation.

These measures will begin their regular three-year maintenance review in 2014 and 2015. At this time, they will undergo a complete evaluation based on all of NQF’s updated measure criteria.

Measures List 

• 0722: Pediatric Symptom Checklist (PSC) (Massachusetts General Hospital)
• 0740: Participation in a Systematic National Dose Index Registry (American College of Radiology)
• 1364: Child and Adolescent Major Depressive Disorder: Diagnostic Evaluation (AMA-PCPI)
• 1365: Child and Adolescent Major Depressive Disorder: Suicide Risk (AMA-PCPI)

Find these measures in QPS, NQF’s premier search tool for endorsed measures.

NQF operates under a three-part mission to improve the quality of American healthcare by: 

• building consensus on national priorities and goals for performance improvement and working in partnership to achieve them;  
• endorsing national consensus standards for measuring and publicly reporting on performance; and  
• promoting the attainment of national goals through education and outreach programs.