Journal of Pain and Symptom Management
Volume 38, Issue 6 , Pages 903-912 , December 2009

A Framework for Assessing Quality Indicators for Cancer Care at the End of Life

  • Hsien Seow, PhD

      Affiliations

    • Department of Health Policy and Management, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
    • ,
  • Claire F. Snyder, PhD, MHS

      Affiliations

    • Division of General Internal Medicine, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
    • ,
  • Richard A. Mularski, MD, MSHS

      Affiliations

    • Center for Health Research, Portland, Oregon, USA
    • Kaiser Permanente Northwest, Oregon Health and Science University, Portland, Oregon, USA
    • ,
  • Lisa R. Shugarman, PhD

      Affiliations

    • RAND Corporation, Santa Monica, California, USA
    • ,
  • Jean S. Kutner, MD, MSPH

      Affiliations

    • Division of General Internal Medicine, University of Colorado School of Medicine, Aurora, Colorado, USA
    • ,
  • Karl A. Lorenz, MD, MSHS

      Affiliations

    • Veterans Integrated Palliative Program, VA Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System, Los Angeles, California, USA
    • ,
  • Albert W. Wu, MD, MPH

      Affiliations

    • Department of Health Policy and Management, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
    • ,
  • Sydney M. Dy, MD, MSc

      Affiliations

    • Department of Health Policy and Management, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
    • Corresponding Author InformationAddress correspondence to: Sydney M. Dy, MD, MSc, Department of Health Policy and Management, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, 624 North Broadway, Room 609, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA.

,Accepted 23 April 2009.

References 

  1. Institute of Medicine and National Research Council. Improving palliative care for cancer. In:  Foley KM,  Gelband H editor. Improving palliative care for cancer. Washington, DC: National Academy Press; 2001;
  2. Institute of Medicine and National Research Council. Enhancing data systems to improve the quality of cancer care. In:  Hewitt M,  Simone JV editor. Enhancing data systems to improve the quality of cancer care. Washington, DC: National Academy Press; 2000;
  3. National Quality Forum. Quality of cancer care measures' project symptom management/end-of-life cancer technical panel. 2006;Available from: http://www.qualityforum.org. Accessed on January 1, 2009.
  4. Donabedian A. The quality of care. How can it be assessed?. JAMA. 1988;260:1743–1748
  5. Lorenz K, Lynn J, Dy SM, et al. Cancer care quality measures: symptoms and end-of-life care. Evid Rep Technol Assess (Full Rep). 2006;137:1–77
  6. Lorenz KA, Lynn J, Dy SM, et al. Quality measures for symptoms and advance care planning in cancer: a systematic review. J Clin Oncol. 2006;24:4933–4938
  7. National Consensus Project for Quality Palliative Care. Clinical practice guidelines for quality palliative care. Pittsburgh, PA: National Consensus Project; 2004;Available from: http://www.nationalconsensusproject.org. Accessed September 4, 2009.
  8. National Quality Forum. A national framework and preferred practices for palliative and hospice care quality. Washington, DC: National Quality Forum; 2006;Available from: www.qualityforum.org. Accessed September 4, 2009.
  9. Carolinas Center for Medical Excellence. Palliative care quality measurement project. Medicare quality improvement community (MedQIC-Hospice). 2008. Available from: www.medqic.org. Accessed September 4, 2009.
  10. Gotay C, Lipscomb J. Data for cancer outcomes research: identifying and strengthening the empirical base. In:  Lipscomb J,  Gotay CC,  Snyder C editor. Outcomes assessment in cancer: Measures, methods, and applications. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press; 2005;
  11. Epstein RM, Street RL. Key communication tasks and outcomes: the cancer care continuum. NIH Publication No. 07-6225 In:  Epstein RM,  Street RL editor. Patient-centered communication in cancer care: Promoting healing and reducing suffering. Bethesda, MD: National Cancer Institute; 2007;p. 68–88
  12. Dy SM, Shugarman LR, Lorenz KA, Mularski RA, Lynn J. A systematic review of satisfaction with care at the end of life. J Am Geriatr Soc. 2008;56:124–129
  13. Lorenz KA, Lynn J, Dy SM, et al. Evidence for improving palliative care at the end of life: a systematic review. Ann Intern Med. 2008;148:147–159
  14. Institute of Medicine. Cancer care for the whole patient: meeting psychosocial health needs. 2008. Available from www.iom.edu. Accessed September 4, 2009.
  15. Lorenz K, Dy SM, Naeim A, et al. Quality measures for supportive cancer care: the cancer quality-ASSIST (assessing symptoms side effects and indicators of supportive treatment) project. J Pain Symptom Manage. 2009;37:943–964
  16. National Quality Forum. Measure evaluation criteria. 2009. Available from: http://www.qualityforum.org. Accessed January 1, 2009.
  17. Lorenz KA, Rosenfeld K, Wenger N. Quality indicators for palliative and end-of-life care in vulnerable elders. J Am Geriatr Soc. 2007;55(Suppl 2):S318–S326
  18. Twaddle ML, Maxwell TL, Cassel JB, et al. Palliative care benchmarks from academic medical centers. J Palliat Med. 2007;10:86–98
  19. Nelson JE, Mulkerin CM, Adams LL, Pronovost PJ. Improving comfort and communication in the ICU: a practical new tool for palliative care performance measurement and feedback. Qual Saf Health Care. 2006;15:264–271
  20. Connor SR, Teno J, Spence C, Smith N. Family evaluation of hospice care: results from voluntary submission of data via website. J Pain Symptom Manage. 2005;30:9–17
  21. Earle CC, Neville BA, Landrum MB, et al. Evaluating claims-based indicators of the intensity of end-of-life cancer care. Int J Qual Health Care. 2005;17:505–509
  22. Jacobson JO, Neuss MN, McNiff KK, et al. Improvement in oncology practice performance through voluntary participation in the quality oncology practice initiative. J Clin Oncol. 2008;26:1893–1898

 This project was funded under Contract No. 290-2005-0034I from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, as part of the Developing Evidence to Inform Decisions About Effectiveness (DEcIDE) program. The authors of this report are responsible for its content. Statements in the report should not be construed as endorsement by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality or the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The authors have no disclosures.

PII: S0885-3924(09)00710-6

doi: 10.1016/j.jpainsymman.2009.04.024

Journal of Pain and Symptom Management
Volume 38, Issue 6 , Pages 903-912 , December 2009

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