Wednesday, April 27, 2016
Measures that Matter in Advanced Illness Care
by Meredith MacMartin
I was drawn to the field of palliative care by something subjective, the feeling of deep satisfaction from providing goal-aligned care for my patients, and the desire to do that better. In training, I came to realize that while much of our work lies in the qualitative realm, the key to doing it better lies in the underlying structure and frame of good communication, symptom management, and care coordination. It is no surprise to me, then, that palliative care is embracing the increasing emphasis on healthcare quality and value; in other words, the quantitative measures that underlie the qualitative experience of our patients and families. I was gratified to see the number of sessions at this year’s AAHPM Annual Assembly that were focused on this topic, and was especially interested in the discussions around the less easily measured aspects of the care that we provide. Many of the metrics that have been tracked and reported in the palliative care field have focused on expenditures and resource utilization, and I for one have struggled with how to collect and organize data on the actual quality of the care I’m providing.
I was drawn to the field of palliative care by something subjective, the feeling of deep satisfaction from providing goal-aligned care for my patients, and the desire to do that better. In training, I came to realize that while much of our work lies in the qualitative realm, the key to doing it better lies in the underlying structure and frame of good communication, symptom management, and care coordination. It is no surprise to me, then, that palliative care is embracing the increasing emphasis on healthcare quality and value; in other words, the quantitative measures that underlie the qualitative experience of our patients and families. I was gratified to see the number of sessions at this year’s AAHPM Annual Assembly that were focused on this topic, and was especially interested in the discussions around the less easily measured aspects of the care that we provide. Many of the metrics that have been tracked and reported in the palliative care field have focused on expenditures and resource utilization, and I for one have struggled with how to collect and organize data on the actual quality of the care I’m providing.
So what does high quality palliative care look like? How
do we measure quality of life parameters in an efficient and meaningful way?
How do we measure the alignment of a patient’s care with his or her goals? How
do we measure the ways in which we impact their experience of advanced illness?
Please join NQF's National Quality Partners and the
Coalition to Transform Advanced Illness Care (C-TAC), co-hosts of the
Wednesday, April 27 (9 pm-10 pm ET) #hpm TweetChat, "Measures that Matter
in Advanced Illness Care."
TweetChat topics:
* Q1
What is the most important aspect of care delivery that you or your
organization currently measures to assess quality #hpm?
* Q2 How
are quality measures integrated into staff performance evaluations & to
whom do they apply (leaders, nurses, chaplains, etc.)?
* Q3
What do individuals & their families see as the most important marker of
quality #hpm care?
* Q4 If
you could identify one measure to capture overall #hpm quality, what would it
be?
* Q5 If
you could add one policy that would improve the delivery of #hpm, what would it
be?
#hpm TweetChats take place every Wednesday at 9 pm ET and
began in 2010 to bring people together to discuss a broad range of hospice and
palliative medicine topics, learn from interdisciplinary perspectives, and
empower everyone to become advocates for high-quality advanced illness care.
Supported by The Research Retirement Foundation, this
TweetChat builds on an NQP initiative to promote high-quality care for adult
patients of all ages with advanced illness. NQP and C-TAC are working together
to galvanize diverse stakeholders to action and maximize their collective
impact.
Meredith MacMartin is a palliative care physician at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center (@DartmouthHitch) and @GeiselMed. She is also one of the moderators of #hpm chat.
When: Wed 4/27/2016 - 9p ET/ 6p PT
Host: NQF’s National Quality Partners follow @NatQualityForum and Coalition to Transform Advanced Illness Care follow @CTACorg
Follow @hpmchat and go to www.hpmchat.org for up to date info.
If you are new to Tweetchats, you do not need a Twitter account to follow along. Try using the search function on Twitter. If you do have a Twitter account, we recommend using tchat.io for ease of following. You can also check out the new site dedicated to #hpm chat - www.hpmchat.org
For more on past tweetchats, see our archive here.