Enhancing end-of-life quality metrics: The role of palliative care in a community oncology practice.

Enhancing end-of-life quality metrics: The role of palliative care in a community oncology practice.
JCO Oncology Practice; by Katherine Baker, Aaron J. Lyss, Larry Edward Bilbrey, L. Johnetta Blakely, Casey Chollet-Lipscomb, Natalie R. Dickson, Leah Owens, Sandhya Mudumbi; 10/25
As value-based payment (VBP) models expand in oncology, care teams adopt innovative strategies to improve outcomes, enhance patient experience, and meet evolving quality metrics (QMs). End-of-life care is one area where timely access to hospice remains inconsistent—especially in rural and underserved communities—and often outside oncology practices' direct control. Additionally, advances like immunotherapy, which may be well tolerated near end-of-life, challenge the hospice model as the sole supportive care option. NCCN and ASCO guidelines recommend early palliative care in advanced cancers, and many community oncology practices now integrate palliative care-to provide longitudinal, goal-concordant care that supports quality of life throughout treatment. Including palliative care receipt in end-of-life QMs offers a more nuanced, equitable way to evaluate care, ensuring patients receive needed support regardless of geography or treatment stage.