Why We Need QI Collaboratives: Guests Steve Pantilat, David Currow, and Arif Kamal

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GeriPal - A Geriatrics and Palliative Medicine Podcast 52 min 3 speakers 5 chapters transcribed 10 hours ago

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What is the purpose of this episode and who are the returning guests?

Eric Widera 0:00

Welcome to the Jerry Pal podcast. This is Eric Quadera. This

Alex Smith 0:03

is Alex

Eric Widera 0:03

Smith. And Alex, super excited today. We're gonna be talking about QI collaboratives and benchmarking in palliative care. Who do we have on the podcast with us today?

Alex Smith 0:11

We have three returning guests today. We have Steve Pantelat, who's a palliative care doctor and chief of the Division of Palliative Medicine, and the Cates Bernard and Hellman Distinguished Professor at UCSF. Steve, welcome back to the JerryPell Podcast. Thanks so much. Great to be with you. And we're delighted to welcome back David Currow, who's a physician researcher, Matthew Flinders, distinguished professor, and Flinders in Adelaide, Australia. David, thank you for joining us from all the way over there in Australia.

David Currow 0:39

You make it sound like not many people come back to do a second round. I don't

Alex Smith 0:48

know. We were pretty good, man. Yeah, we're pretty good. We're trying to we're trying to decide if we want to have like a frequent guest's coat like they do on Saturday Night Live. I think you gotta do that. Yeah, the five time guest.

Eric Widera 0:57

Steve was the one who mentioned that. He said we should have to do that. That was Steve's idea.

Alex Smith 1:00

Steve's idea. Yeah. So we're working towards that.

David Currow 1:03

He's gotta be the first guy to wear it then.

Alex Smith 1:05

That's right. And we're delighted to welcome Arif Kamal, who's a palliative care doc and the first ever chief patient officer for the American Cancer Society and the American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine board president. Arif, welcome back to the Jerrypal podcast.

Arif Kamal 1:21

Uh thanks for having me back. And it's a self-proclaimed king of swag. I'm gonna put in a vote for some JerryPel swag for guests, particularly returning

Jarmo Kekalainen 1:28

members.

Arif Kamal 1:30

Yeah. Saying.

Alex Smith 1:31

We're asking for a friend.

Eric Widera 1:37

Okay. So we just did a podcast with Ira Bayok, Christy Newport, Brynn Bowman on basically does palliative care need saving? And if so, how do we do it? This is kind of like a part two, not really talking about the problems, but talking about potential solutions, including the need, um, if there's a need for registries, collaboratives to improve quality and palliative care. But before we dive into that topic. Who has the song request? Is it you, Steve? It

Steve Pantilat 2:05

is. Yeah, it's me. What?

Eric Widera 2:06

On behalf of

Steve Pantilat 2:07

my colleagues. The song is Keep Me in Your Heart by Warren Zevon. And why

Eric Widera 2:12

did you pick this song?

Steve Pantilat 2:14

Well, you know, I like it because it reminds us that our patients are sick and their time is limited, and therefore there's a moral imperative for us to provide the best possible care to our patients. Warren Zevon wrote this song after being diagnosed with mesothelioma and the album came out a just a couple of weeks before he died. And this is the last song on his last album.

Alex Smith 2:38

Oh wow. Yeah, great choice. And we heard this song previously. We had a podcast early, early on about songs that move you in palliative care. And I think Ann Kelly selected this song. Here's a little bit.

Unknown 3:00

Shadows are falling and I'm running out of breath. Keep me in your heart for a while. If I leave you, it doesn't mean I love you any less. Keep me in your heart for a while. When you get up in the morning. And you see that crazy sun? Give me your heart for a while. There's a train leaving nightly called when all is said and done. Keep me in your heart for while. Sha la la la la la la la la la. Keep me in your heart for a while. Shah la la la la la la la la la. Keep me in your heart for a while.

Alex Smith 4:01

That

Eric Widera 4:01

was lovely. Good song, Steve.

Alex Smith 4:02

Great choice. Terrific lyrics in that song, by the way. Yeah, it's really Check it out, listeners.

Eric Widera 4:07

Really pretty. Okay, let's j dive into the topic. QI collaboratives, registries, benchmarking. Anybody wanna just before we even dive into do these things work, what they are, what is a QI collaborative or registry?

Steve Pantilat 4:26

All right, I c I can start. How about that? Yeah. Yeah. So uh Q I What is it? Well, you know, QC QI collaborative is really just groups, in this case of palliative care teams getting together and working together on quality improvement projects, trying to learn together, learn with and from each other. I think what you know, Peacock in Australia, PCQN, GPCQA, PCQC, what they did differently is that we created a

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Chapters

5 chapters

1 What is the purpose of this episode and who are the returning guests? 0:00–7:17 2 Why did the hosts choose “Keep Me in Your Heart” as the song request and what does it symbolize for palliative care? 7:17–15:22 3 What exactly is a quality‑improvement (QI) collaborative or registry in palliative care? 15:22–21:27 4 Why is measuring practice variation important and how does it affect patient outcomes? 21:27–47:15 5 How do we decide which quality metrics to include in a palliative‑care registry? 47:15–52:41

Speakers

3 identified

Eric Widera 7 min Alex Smith 4 min Jarmo Kekalainen

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Topics in this episode

Australia 1 California 1 Wisconsin 1 Peacock 4 UCSF 1 Eric Quadera 1 Warren Zevon 2 mesothelioma 1 Rav 1 David Currow 5 National Palliative Care Registry 1 Steve Pantilat 1

Source

Recorded08 Jan 2026

Publisherrss.libsyn.com ↗

Transcriptspeaker-named · 100+ languages

Handlerec:20524478

Show notes

In a recent episode of the GeriPal podcast, we explored whether the field of palliative care is in need of saving—and, if so, how to save it—with guests Ira Byock, Kristi Newport, and Brynn Bowman. Today, we shift focus to one actionable way to improve palliative care: through quality improvement (QI) collaboratives, registries, and benchmarking. To guide this discussion, we've invited three leading experts in the field—Drs. Steve Pantilat, David Currow, and Arif Kamal—who bring invaluable experience as pioneers in developing QI collaboratives and registries. Together, they authored a recent paper in JPSM titled "The Case for Collaboration to Optimize Quality," which underscores the importance of these efforts. In this episode, Dr. David Currow shares lessons from Australia's Palliative Care Outcomes Collaborative (PCOC), a national model for standardized data collection and benchmarking that has driven measurable improvements in palliative care. Meanwhile, Drs. Steve Pantilat and Arif Kamal reflect on the history of the Palliative Care Quality Collaborative (PCQC), a U.S.-based initiative formed in 2019 by merging the National Palliative Care Registry (NPCR), the Palliative Care Quality Network (PCQN), and the Global Palliative Care Quality Alliance (GPCQA). Although the PCQC had ambitious goals, it ultimately closed earlier this year. Together, the panelists unpack the reasons behind its closure and discuss the lessons future registries can take away from its challenges. Throughout the conversation, we tackle some of the field's biggest questions about registries and QI collaboratives: What data should be collected to create meaningful quality indicators? How can we minimize the administrative burden of data collection on clinicians? And how do we balance the risk of becoming narrowly focused "symptomatologists" with the need to maintain holistic, person-centered care? By addressing these questions, the panel highlights the immense potential of QI initiatives to enhance palliative care while remaining true to the field's core mission: ensuring that patients and their families feel deeply cared for during life's most vulnerable moments.

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