Date of Publication:
SEP 2021
Associated Project:
Geriatrics and Palliative CareAbstract
The National Quality Forum (NQF) has endorsed more than 30 measures that address geriatric care, palliative care, and end-of-life care issues such as physical, spiritual, and legal aspects of care, as well as the care of patients nearing the end of life. Factors such as the aging U.S population; the projected increases in the number of Americans with functional limitations, chronic illnesses, and disabilities; and increases of ethnic and cultural diversity have reinforced the need to improve the quality of both palliative, end-of-life, and geriatric care while emphasizing the need for individualized, person-centered care. During the Fall 2020 measure evaluation cycle, NQF convened a multistakeholder Standing Committee with 24 individuals to evaluate four maintenance measures. The Standing Committee recommended three measures for continued endorsement and one measure to no longer be endorsed. The Consensus Standards Approval Committee (CSAC) upheld the Standing Committee's recommendations for continued endorsement for two measures and the measure that was not recommended for endorsement. The CSAC did not uphold the Standing Committee’s recommendation to endorse the remaining measure and returned it to the Standing Committee for reconsideration.