Purpose: Most cancer quality measures focus on individual cancers, assess specific providers, and evaluate processes of care. Although important, these efforts are not sufficient. A more comprehensive measure set is needed to address gaps in care, focus on patients rather than providers, and assess the cross-cutting aspects of care that are relevant to all patients with cancer throughout the trajectory of their illness.
Methods: With the long-term goal of developing a more comprehensive oncology measure set, the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) organized a collaborative measure summit that used an iterative consensus approach to identify priorities for the development of new cancer quality measures. The summit, which included professional societies and patient/consumer advocacy organizations, was held during the ASCO Quality Care Symposium in December 2012.
Results: This effort, which brought together 12 diverse stakeholders, identified 10 high-priority topics for cancer quality measure development that cross-cut cancer diagnoses and care settings and addressed patient-centered concerns. Topics of particular interest included planning and counseling before therapy, interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary coordinated care, comprehensive symptom assessment, patient experience of care, and use of palliative care and hospice services.
Conclusion: This is an important first step in the development of patient-centered, cross-cutting cancer quality measures. Addressing the high-priority topics identified by this effort will help fill the gaps left by existing cancer quality measures, including care coordination and transitions, quality of life, safety, experience of care, and outcomes. More work will be needed to specify, implement, and validate measures based on these topics.
Copyright © 2014 by American Society of Clinical Oncology.