What is the Family Evaluation of Palliative Care Survey (FEPC)? What information will the survey provide? What does participation in NHPCO’s FEPC program involve? How do I get started using the FEPC survey? How do I submit FEPC data to NHPCO? How and when do I get my FEPC report? Can all palliative care providers participate — even those which are not currently NHPCO members? Sending out the survey and submitting the data sounds like a substantial commitment of resources – what is gained by participation? How can I find out more about participating?

What is the Family Evaluation of Palliative Care Survey (FEPC)? FEPC is a post-death survey that captures family members’ perceptions about the quality of the palliative care their loved ones received —whether that care was provided by a hospital-based consult service or by a hospice program offering palliative care.  The questions on the FEPC survey are based on those in the Family Evaluation of Hospice Care (FEHC) survey, with wording modifications appropriate to palliative care service delivery.

What information will the survey provide? The FEPC survey provides two basic categories of information.  The first is descriptive in nature and includes demographic information such as the patient’s age and primary diagnosis, and whether the patientexperienced symptoms such as pain, difficulty breathing, and anxiety. The second category encompasses aspects of quality of care delivery in areas such as care coordination, symptom management, and provision of information. These results are indicators for how well the palliative care program is performing and reflect areas that can be used for quality assessment and improvement activities.

What does participation in NHPCO’s FEPC program involve? There are three steps to participation:

• Mail the survey to family members of deceased patients who received palliative care services
• Submit data from the surveys to NHPCO online
• Retrieve a report of results

A schedule that includes data submission deadlines, blackout periods for the online data submission system, and report availability is posted on the FEPC page (www.nhpco.org/fepc) of the NHPCO Web site.

How do I get started using the FEPC survey?

First, download the FEPC survey materials from the NHPCO website. Go to www.nhpco.org/fepc and select “FEPC Survey Materials.”  Next, decide which version of the survey to use – the full version that includes optional questions or the core version.  Then begin mailing the surveys to family members of deceased patients. NHPCO recommends mailing the survey from one to three months following the patient’s death. When surveys are returned, data submission can begin.

How do I submit FEPC data to NHPCO?

Data submission is done online through the DART web-based data submission system. The link for DART is located on www.nhpco.org/fepc. 

DART is a user-friendly system. It contains numerous prompts and instructions to ensure that the data submission process is as easy and efficient as possible.

Data entry and submission is a one-step process -- when entered data is saved it is automatically sent to the FEPC database.  The web-based        system has a blackout period for the 2 weeks following the twice yearly data submission deadline.  Otherwise, the web-based system is always available.

How and when do I get my FEPC report?

Individualized reports are created on a biannual basis. Each report will include detailed results for your palliative care program, along with comparisons at the national level. 

Reports, in the form of a pdf document, are accessed through the DART system.

Can all palliative care providers participate — even those which are not currently NHPCO members?

Any program can use the survey, which can be downloaded from the NHPCO Web site. However, only members can use the online data submission system and receive reports.

Sending out the survey and submitting the data sounds like a substantial commitment of resources – what is gained by participation?

Opportunities to improve the effectiveness, efficiency, and accountability of programs providing palliative care should be considered as a vehicle to improve outcomes and access, increase satisfaction, and reduce administrative and clinical inefficiencies. The Family Evaluation of Palliative Care offers programs a valuable opportunity to receive feedback and compare their performance to nationally representative data. The FEPC survey provides useful, meaningful, and actionable data, thereby furnishing palliative care programs with a valid means of ensuring quality of care. 

How can I find out more about participating?

NHPCO maintains a dedicated email address for FEPC. Questions related to any aspect of the FEPC survey process should be sent fepc@nhpco.org.