National Quality Forum (NQF)
NQF is a private sector standard-setting organization that is comprised of a diverse group of healthcare stakeholders whose efforts center on the evaluation and endorsement of standardized performance measurement. Currently, NQF is the primary measure endorser and these measures are commonly recognized throughout the health-care industry to reflect a rigorous scientific and evidence-based review. Organizations that have developed measures submit them to NQF for consideration and NQF evaluates them based on standards that determined through a formal consensus process with input from a variety of stakeholders.
NQF Measure Evaluation
The goal of NQF endorsement is to show the measure is important to measure and report, scientifically acceptable (reliable and valid), usable and relevant, and feasible to collect. The following documents are used in the NQF Consensus Development and the Measure Evaluation and Endorsement Process:
- NQF Consensus Development Process
- NQF Measure Evaluation Criteria
- NQF Importance to Measure and Report
- NQF Scientific Acceptability of Measure Properties
- NQF Usability and Feasibility
- NQF Composite Evaluation Criteria
How ACP is involved:
ACP is a voting member organization of NQF and nominates representatives to serve on the NQF Executive Board, Consensus Standards Action Committee (CSAC), Health Professionals Council, Measures Application Partnership, and steering committees related to clinical topics in Internal Medicine.