Evaluation Report: NQF's Proposed Two-Stage CDP Process 

In fall 2011, NQF began to explore a potential redesign of the Consensus Development Process (CDP) in response to a request from the American Medical Association, 38 medical specialty societies, and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. These organizations hoped a redesign would allow for earlier review of proposed measures, specifications, and testing results, as well as more flexible scheduling so measures could be evaluated outside the constraints of a three-year endorsement cycle. This report presents the results of a pilot project that tested a two-stage CDP model, as well as recommendations for improving the CDP moving forward.