Frequently Asked Questions

1. What is the Palliative Care Quality Collaborative?

   The Palliative Care Quality Collaborative (PCQC) is a non-profit membership organization, housing to the only national unified specialty palliative care quality registry and collaborative.  The PCQC combines the power of clinical and program data reporting to drive quality and performance improvement in clinical care.

   The goal of PCQC is to improve the care and well-being of people with serious illness and their caregivers by providing members the data and resources to enact meaningful change.  PCQC delivers timely and useful patient- and program-centered data that identifies and promotes best practices through structured learning sessions, collaborative research, peer networking, and a supportive community of palliative care stakeholders that supports accreditation, accountability, and quality improvement.

2. Why should my palliative care organization join a national registry and quality collaboration?

   Standardized collection of structure, process, and clinical data outcomes allows for national benchmarking and identification of best practices that is not possible for any program on its own. With every participating program, PCQC increases the collective sample size for benchmarking and research and enables the palliative care field to drive quality initiatives. Creating this national organization provides an opportunity to make data collection, analysis, reporting, benchmarking, and quality improvement (QI) simple and streamlined.

3. Why should we contribute both structure & process and clinical data? What is the benefit of collecting both?

   By contributing structure, process, and clinical data into the PCQC Registry, your program can tell a complete story about its performance.  Submitting structure & process data will provide you with an overview of your program’s capacity to reach patients and perform consults compared against national peers like you.  Similarly, collection of clinical data allows your program to determine performance in adherence to quality-based care standards.  However, by combining both types of data you can tell your program’s story with a full context of factors that may impact care delivery.  

   Structure data help determine staffing ratios and workload and ensure that programs align with national guidelines. Process measures, such as whether a program uses standardized screening criteria (triggers) to identify a patient with palliative care needs, influence the quality-of-care delivery. Positive patient-level outcomes are the gold standard, and process measures help you reach them. By collecting all levels of data, you can understand how process characteristics, such as staffing and workload, relate to the care you provide and the patient outcomes you achieve. Linking structure, process, and outcomes enables our field to define best practices.

4. How was PCQC formed? 

   PCQC was formed through a collaboration of six national palliative care organizations: American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine (AAHPM), Center to Advance Palliative Care (CAPC), Global Palliative Care Quality Alliance (GPCQA), National Palliative Care Research Center (NPCRC), Palliative Care Quality Network (PCQN), and Four Seasons. It has combined the functions of the registry organizations (GPCQA, NPCRC, & PCQN), merging the best aspects of each palliative care registry. The Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation provided principal funding for PCQC, with additional support from the Cambia Health Foundation. 

   Clinical Data Capture and Reports are informed by the work completed by the former PCQN and GPCQA. Annual Program Surveys and Reports and completing a Program Profile are similar to the profiles, surveys, and reports from the former National Palliative Care Registry™.

5. If we are former participants in one of the legacy registries (GPCQA, PCQN or the National Palliative Care Registry), what can we do with our historical data?

   Participants in the legacy registries were provided the opportunity to download and internally store their historical data prior to the closing of these registries. If your organization did this, when transitioning to the PCQC registry, your program can decide if it wants to send their historical data to PCQC.  If you are unsure, the PCQC Team is happy to check on your behalf. 

   The National Palliative Care Registry™ sent your historical data to PCQC. You can access your historical data and longitudinal reports through the PCQC Registry.  

6. What other learning, networking, or collaboration opportunities exist?

   As part of Premium Membership (Clinical Data Capture), PCQC provides valuable educational and networking opportunities. Premium Members are provided with monthly opportunities to connect with fellow PCQC Premium members to improve and to support the translation of the PCQC data into actionable data through webinars, networking, strategy exchanges, best practices, and QI implementation. 

7. Does PCQC have the capacity to integrate with electronic health records?

   Yes, we have worked with our technology vendor to create the capability for PCQC to integrate with EHR systems. The process for integration will vary depending on your specific EHR vendor. PCQC will work with you to identify the best options for your program. Manual data entry continues for all those that wish to do so.  EHR integration is available for Premium Members only.  

8. Is there a fee associated with becoming a PCQC member?

   Participation in Annual Program Level Surveys and Reports (structures and processes) is free for all palliative care organizations. Participation in Clinical Data Capture and Reports and the quality collaborative (Premium membership) is associated with a fee. The annual membership fee is based upon program size and volume. Discounts apply for bulk purchases and pediatric and safety net programs. If you are curious about the specific cost for your program, reach out directly to PCQC at info@palliativequality.org for a price quote.

9. What are the different membership levels? 

   Specialty Palliative Care programs are invited to participate in PCQC at the following membership levels:   

   • Basic Membership (free): completing a program profile and the option to be listed on getpalliativecare.org. 
   • Advanced Membership (free): participation in the annual program survey and access to the program reports. 
   • Premium Membership: clinical data capture, clinical reports, and access to the PCQC Quality Collaborative. This level of membership requires an annual fee and contract. Please reach out directly to PCQC at info@palliativequality.org for more information. 

10. I Love it! When can I join?

    If you are interested in joining or learning more about PCQC, please send an email to info@palliativequality.org to schedule an introduction call with our team. In the meantime, you can begin to explore the PCQC benefits with your internal team, including clinicians, administrators, EHR experts, local champions, leadership, and staff to gain their support and participation.  You can also download the contracts and legal agreements from our website (link) and begin to review them with your legal team. 

PCQC Partner Organizations: