Measure Scan and Synthesis of Palliative and End-of-Life Process Quality Measures for Advanced Cancer.

Area of Science:

• Oncology
• Palliative Care
• Health Services Research

Background:

• Quality of palliative and end-of-life cancer care is a critical concern in the US.
• Existing quality measures often overlap in concept.
• A need exists to synthesize these measures for effective implementation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To identify and synthesize existing process quality measures for palliative and end-of-life care in advanced cancer patients.
• To create a taxonomy of measure concepts to guide stakeholder prioritization.
• To facilitate health system implementation of improved care quality.

Main Methods:

• Systematic review of MEDLINE/PubMed-indexed articles for relevant process quality measures.
• Inclusion of expert input to supplement literature findings.
• Inductive grouping of identified measures into "measure concepts" and higher-level categories.

Main Results:

• Identified 226 unique measures from 23 sources.
• Grouped measures into 64 distinct "measure concepts" across 12 categories.
• Categories included advance care planning, symptom management (pain, dyspnea), psychosocial needs, and culturally appropriate care.

Conclusions:

• The developed taxonomy provides a structured overview of palliative and end-of-life care quality measures.
• This framework can assist health systems in prioritizing quality improvement targets.
• Facilitates stakeholder engagement for implementing evidence-based practices in advanced cancer care.