Agnesian Cancer Center Recognized

The Agnesian Cancer Center has been recognized by the QOPI Certification Program (QCP™), an affiliate of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO), as successfully completing a three-year certification program for outpatient hematology-oncology practices that meet nationally-recognized standards for quality cancer care. QCP builds on ASCO’s Quality Oncology Practice Initiative (QOPI^®).

The Agnesian Cancer Center is one of eight outpatient practices in Wisconsin to receive this recognition.

“Certification by the American Society of Clinical Oncology’s Quality Oncology Practice Initiative, QOPI, is a singular achievement for the Agnesian Cancer Center staff,” says Joel Lundberg, MD, FACP, hematologist/medical oncologist.  “It represents the culmination of several years of concerted effort by our physicians, nurse practitioner, nurses and associates to meet high national standards of quality and safety in the treatment of patients in need of medical oncology and hematology services. It is validation of the commitment by all of our highly-skilled professionals to provide the highest level of care for our patients and their families through a process of self-assessment and continuous quality improvement. I am very proud of our staff for this national recognition.”

In applying for certification, the Agnesian Cancer Center participated in a voluntary comprehensive site assessment against clearly specified standards that are consistent with national guidelines and was successful in meeting the standards and objectives of QCP.

“ASCO’s QOPI certification recognizes those oncology practices that are committed to delivering the highest quality of cancer care,” says Daniel F. Hayes, MD, FASCO, ASCO president. “By achieving certification, these practices have demonstrated their commitment to quality and safety excellence in the care they deliver to patients, as well as to the continuous process of quality improvement.”

QOPI is a voluntary self-assessment and improvement program launched by ASCO in 2006 to help hematology-oncology and medical oncology practices assess the quality of the care they provide to patients. Through the QOPI program, practices abstract data from patients’ records up to twice per year and enter this information into a secure database. More than 900 oncology practices have registered for the QOPI program.

The QOPI Certification Program was launched in January 2010, and more than 250 practices are currently certified. This certification for outpatient oncology practices is the first program of its kind for oncology in the United States. Oncologists can achieve certification by participating in a voluntary comprehensive site assessment against clearly specified standards that are consistent with national guidelines. The QCP seal designates those practices that successfully met the standards and objectives of the QOPI Certification Program, which includes scoring above the threshold on the key QOPI quality measures and meeting chemotherapy safety standards established by ASCO and the Oncology Nursing Society.

QOPI analyzes individual practice data and compares these to more than 160 evidence-based and consensus quality measures. The information is then provided in reports to participating practices. Individual practices also are able to compare their performance to data from other practices across the country. Based on this feedback, physicians and practices can identify areas for improvement.

To become certified, practices have to submit to an evaluation of their entire practice and documentation standards. The QCP staff and steering group members then verify through on-site inspection that the evaluation and documents are correct and that the practices met core standards in areas of treatment, including:

• Treatment planning
• Staff training and education
• Chemotherapy orders and drug preparation
• Patient consent and education
• Safe chemotherapy administration
• Monitoring and assessment of patient well-being.

QOPI and the QCP are projects dedicated to innovative quality improvement programs. For more information, visit:http://www.instituteforquality.org/qopi-qcp.