Developing Specialty Palliative Care Program Standards

Since 2004, the palliative care field has looked to the National Consensus Project Clinical Practice Guidelines for Quality Palliative Care to illustrate the gold standard for care delivery. As new opportunities for payment for palliative care arise—through state Medicaid plans, payer contracts, and other mechanisms—our field will benefit from defining the minimum requirements for quality specialty palliative care programs, and standardizing models/expectations for care delivery.

Responding to this need, CAPC is convening a national effort to develop operational standards for specialty palliative care programs. A newly assembled interprofessional Standards Development Committee is comprised of nationally renowned palliative care program leaders, carefully selected to represent programs across care settings, located in geographically diverse areas, serving a broad cross-section of patient populations and in a variety of payment environments.

Key components of the palliative care program standards will include, but are not limited to:

• Palliative care services
• Interprofessional team composition
• Clinician training and/or certification requirements for program staff
• Structural capabilities (for example, program coverage and coordination with other health care services)

Following the initial development of standards by this group, CAPC will socialize the draft with a broader audience, including patients and caregivers, payers, policymakers, accreditation bodies, and other key partners.

Jeannette Boohene, MD
Palliative Care Physician
Southern Arizona Veterans Association Healthcare System

Cory Chevalier, MD, FACP, FAAHPM
Chief Medical Officer
Reserve Care

Pat Coyne, MSN, ACNS-BC, ACHPN, FAAN, FPCN
Clinical Nurse Specialist
Assistant Professor and Consultant for Palliative Care
Medical University of South Carolina

Kimberly Curseen, MD, FAAHPM
Professor, Department of Family and Preventive Medicine, Emory University School of Medicine
Operation Lead, Emory Palliative Care Center
Director, Winship Palliative Care, Emory University

Jeffery Garland, DMin, EdS, BCC-PCHAC
Chaplain
Visiting Nurse Association (VNA) Health Group’s Barnabas Health Home and Hospice & Palliative Care Center

Matt Gonzales, MD, FAAHPM
Associate Vice President
Chief Medical and Operations Officer
Institute for Human Caring at Providence

Harry Han, MD
Palliative Care Physician, Division of Palliative Care and Geriatric Medicine
Massachusetts General Hospital

George Handzo, APBCC, CSSBB
Director, Health Services Research & Quality
HealthCare Chaplaincy Network

Laura Hanson, MD, MPH
Professor, Division of Geriatric Medicine
Medical Director, Palliative Care & Hospice Program
University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill

Mansara Hassan, MSN, APRN, AGNP-C
Palliative Care Nurse Practitioner
Thyme Care

Jessica Hausauer, PhD
Chief Executive Officer
National Coalition for Hospice and Palliative Care

Jennifer Hicks, MSHA, MBA
Director of Clinical Practice Operations
University of Alabama at Birmingham

Rikki Hooper, FNP-C, MBA
Senior Director of Palliative Care
Four Seasons

James (Jay) Joseph, MD, MSPC, HMDC, FAAFP
Medical Director
Geisinger at Home

Mark Kantrow, MD, FAAHPM
System Medical Director for Palliative Care
Franciscan Missionaries of Our Lady Health System

Lauren King, MSW, LISW-CP, APHSW-C
Senior Social Worker, Palliative Care
Clinical Assistant Professor of Internal Medicine, USC School of Medicine

Praba Koomson, DNP, MSc. GPPH, CNE, RN
Senior Director Population Health
Sutter Care Management
Sutter Population Health Services/Sutter Health Network

Sonia Malhotra, MD, MS, FAAP, FACP, FAAHPM
Adult and Pediatric Palliative Medicine Physician
Associate Chief of Palliative Medicine
Tulane University School of Medicine

Bethany Melo, MMS, MPH, PA-C, CAQ-PMHC, DFAAPA
Palliative Medicine Physician Associate
ChristianaCare

Cameron Muir, MD, FAAHPM
Chief Medical & Innovation Officer
National Partnership for Healthcare and Hospice Innovation

Kristina Newport, MD, FAAHPM, HMD
Chief of Palliative Care
Penn State Health

Jennifer O’Neill, DNP, MBA
Vice President, Palliative Care
VITAS Healthcare

Erin Pérez, DNP, APRN, ANP-C, AGNP-C, ACHPN
Adult and Geriatric Nurse Practitioner
University Medicine Associates

Drew Rosielle, MD, FAAHPM
Associate Professor, University of Minnesota Medical School
M Health Fairview

Amy Scheu, MSH, CHPCA
Associate Vice President of Midwest Hospice & Enterprise Palliative Care
Advocate Health

Kristofer Smith, MD, MPP
Co-founder, President and Chief Medical Officer
Ruby Health Senior Clinical Advisor

Heather Rogers Smith, PT, DPT, MS
Vice President of Payer Innovation and Care Delivery Models
Teleios Collaborative Network

Christy Torkildson, PhD, RN, PHN, FPCN, HEC-C
Program Lead
Grand Canyon University College of Nursing and Health Care Professions

Kathryn Walker, PharmD
Assistant Vice President of Palliative Care, MedStar Health
Associate Professor, University of Maryland School of Pharmacy