The Serious Illness Quality Alignment Hub (“the Hub”) was a coordinated effort from 2017-2019 to develop a national strategic plan to incentivize the delivery of high-quality care for people living with a serious illness.

The Hub – led by CAPC, in collaboration with the National Quality Forum– was funded by the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation. It completed four work streams

Opportunity Assessment: investigating operations and opportunities across multiple levers of accountability

Accountability Committee: assessing and prioritizing opportunities to strengthen accountability, by feasibility and likely impact, across each of the levers

Quality Measurement Committee: cataloging measures and making recommendations to address measurement gaps

National Serious Illness Projects: coordinating and aligning multiple national efforts to improve standards and measures in the care of people living with serious illness

2.4.3 Serious Illness Quality Alignment Hub - QAH National Strategic Plan.png
Participating organizations included: AARP; Accountable Care Learning Collaborative (ACLC); American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine (AAHPM); Blue Cross Blue Shield Massachusetts; Blue Shield California; Catalyst for Payment Reform (CPR); Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS); Cerner; Coalition to Transform Advanced Care (C-TAC); Council of Medical Specialties; Discern Health; Duke-Margolis Center for Health Policy; Epic; Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, Brookdale Department of Geriatrics and Palliative Medicine; John D. Stoeckle Center for Primary Care Innovation; Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Center on Aging and Health; National Academy for State Health Policy (NASHP); National Coalition for Hospice and Palliative Care; National Hospice & Palliative Care Organization; National Patient Advocate Foundation (NPAF); National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA); National Partnership for Women and Families; National Quality Forum (NQF); Network for Regional Healthcare Improvement (NRHI); Optum Supportive Care; Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU); Peterson Center of Healthcare; RAND Corporation; The Joint Commission (TJC); University of California, San Francisco, Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center

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Tools and resources for various stakeholders to ensure high-quality, high-value care for people living with serious illness.

Serious Illness Quality Alignment Hub National Strategic Plan

Consolidation of selected areas of focus and defined strategies to enhance accountability for access to palliative care and enhance the quality of those services. Center to Advance Palliative Care and National Quality Forum, 2020.

Accountability Systems Paradigm

Opportunities to improve access and quality across 10 "Accountability Systems" spanning federal, state, and private arenas.

Recommended Quality Measures

Measures that can be used by payers and policymakers to ensure quality care for people living with serious illness.

National Quality Forum Issue Brief: Opportunities for Advancing Quality Measurement in Community-Based Serious Illness Care

Insights, recommended strategies, approaches, and tools, and a snapshot of the current quality measurement landscape for serious illness. National Quality Forum (NQF).

Recommended Standards for Hospitals and SNFs

Structures and processes that all hospitals and skilled nursing facilities need to assure access to high-quality care for people with serious illness.

State Definition and Standards

Recommended palliative care definitions and standards used for state legislation.

Purchaser Toolkit for High-Quality Serious Illness Care

Tools for employers and other stakeholders to specify required benefits and network competencies. Catalyst for Payment Reform and Center to Advance Palliative Care, 2018.

State Issue Brief

How palliative care fills gaps in U.S. health care, and state-level policy recommendations to expand access to it.

Measurement of Function: Results from NQF Strategy Session
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The Hub Quality Committee gathered in February 2019 to explore best practices and opportunities to improve measurement of function. National Quality Forum, 2019.

Publications guiding the work of the Hub.

A National Strategy For Palliative Care

Illustrates the gaps in care for people with serious illness, and the need for a national strategy to ensure reliable access to high-quality palliative care. Health Affairs, 2017.

Banff Convening Summary Report

2017 convening on accountability for access to quality care of people with serious illness in community settings.

Special Edition of the Journal of Palliative Care

March 2018 issue dedicated to quality measurement and accountability for community-based care for people living with serious illness.

Implementing change at the state level. Includes 39 resources.
Recommended policy improvements at the federal level. Includes 28 resources.
Tools to help payers, policymakers, and providers understand best practices for delivering quality care during a serious illness, and to identify certifications that demonstrate adherence to third-party quality standards. Includes 32 resources.

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