The National Quality Forum (NQF) is a not-for-profit, nonpartisan, membership-based organization that works to catalyze improvements in healthcare. NQF endorsement is the gold standard for healthcare quality. NQF-endorsed measures are evidence-based and valid, and in tandem with the delivery of care and payment reform. Additionally, the CMS relies on the guidance of NQF to foster the use of a more uniform set of measures across federal programs that provide health coverage for about 120 million Americans.
ASCO continues to receive endorsement from NQF for eight quality measures. Each measure is evaluated by NQF for suitability on (1) importance, (2) scientific acceptability, (3) feasibility, (4) usability, and (5) related and competing measures. The ASCO measures are endorsed for the accountability designation. Accountability measures are suitable for public reporting, payment incentive programs, and the selection of providers by consumers, health plans, or purchasers. The quality improvement designation indicates measure use for internal monitoring of performance within an organization or group so that analyses and subsequent remedial actions can be taken.
NQF-Endorsed Measures of ASCO
Measure |
Last Update |
Endorsement Category |
(NQF: 210) Proportion of patients who died from cancer receiving chemotherapy in the last 14 days of life |
2020 |
Accountability |
(NQF: 213) Proportion of patients who died from cancer admitted to the ICU in the last 30 days of life |
2020 |
Accountability |
(NQF: 215) Proportion of patients who died from cancer not admitted to hospice |
2020 |
Accountability |
(NQF: 216) Proportion of patients who died from cancer admitted to hospice for less than 3 days |
2020 |
Accountability |
(NQF: 0383) Oncology: Plan of Care for Pain – Medical Oncology and Radiation Oncology (paired with 0384) |
2019 |
Accountability |
(NQF: 1858) Trastuzumab administered to patients with AJCC stage I (T1c) – III and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) positive breast cancer who receive adjuvant chemotherapy |
2019 |
Accountability |
(NQF: 1859) KRAS/NRAS gene mutation testing performed for patients with metastatic colorectal cancer who receive anti-epidermal growth factor receptor monoclonal antibody therapy |
2019 |
Accountability |
(NQF: 1860) Patients with metastatic colorectal cancer and KRAS/NRAS gene mutation spared treatment with anti-epidermal growth factor receptor monoclonal antibodies |
2019 |
Accountability |
(NQF: 211) Proportion with more than one emergency room visit in the last days of life |
2016 |
Quality Improvement |
(NQF: 0386) Oncology: Cancer Stage Documented |
2019 |
Quality Improvement |
(NQF: 1857) HER2 negative or undocumented breast cancer patients spared treatment with HER2-targeted therapies |
2016 |
Quality Improvement |
(NQF: 1878) HER2 testing for overexpression or gene amplification in patients with breast cancer |
2016 |
Quality Improvement |
(NQF: 212) Proportion with more than one hospitalization in the last 30 days of life |
2012 |
Retired |
(NQF: 214) Proportion dying from Cancer in an acute care setting |
2012 |
Retired |