Table 2.

Selected palliative care quality metrics

Domain	Process Measure	Outcome Measure	Example Data Collection Tools
Symptom assessment at initial encounter	Frequency of documentation	Symptom scores	Modified Edmonton Symptom Assessment Scale
Daily reassessment for moderate to severe symptoms	Frequency of documentation	Change in symptom scores over time	Palliative Care Outcome Scale
Reassessment of all symptoms every 3 days	Frequency of documentation	Change in symptom scores over time	Dialysis Symptom Index
			McGill Pain Questionnaire
			Patient Health Questionnaire-9
Goals of care/goals of treatment	Documentation frequency or documentation that the patient did not want to discuss		Physician Orders for Life Sustaining Treatment (POLST)
			Medical Orders for Life Sustaining Treatment (MOLST)
			Appointment of health care agent
			Documentation of goals of care conversations
			Documentation of advance care planning
Support to patient and caregivers	Frequency of documentation	Patient/family satisfaction surveys	Consumer Assessments and Reports of End of Life (CARE)
			Bereaved Family Survey (PROMISE)
			Family Evaluation of Hospice Care
			Family Assessment of Treatment at End-of-Life (FATE-S-VA)
Transition management	Frequency of documentation, advance directives follow patient across care settings		Care Transitions Measure

Adapted from Weissman et al. (34).