Newswise — Chicago (April 19, 2013): The Commission on Cancer (CoC) of the American College of Surgeons (ACS) has granted its 2012 Outstanding Achievement Award to a select group of 79 accredited cancer programs throughout the United States. Award criteria were based on qualitative and quantitative surveys conducted last year.
For a list of these award winning cancer programs visit: www.facs.org/cancer/coc/outstandingachievement2012list.html
The purpose of the award is to raise the bar on quality cancer care, with the ultimate goal of increasing awareness about quality care choices among cancer patients and their loved ones. In addition, the award is intended to:
• Recognize those cancer programs that achieve excellence in providing quality care to cancer patients.• Motivate other cancer programs to work toward improving their level of care.• Facilitate dialogue between award recipients and health care professionals at other cancer facilities for the purpose of sharing best practices.• Encourage honorees to serve as quality-care resources to other cancer programs.
“More and more, we’re finding that patients and their families want to know how the health care institutions in their communities compare with one another,” said Daniel P. McKellar, MD, FACS, Chair of the CoC. “They want access to information in terms of who’s providing the best quality of care, and they want to know about overall patient outcomes. Through this recognition program, I’d like to think we’re playing a small, but vital role, in helping them make informed decisions on their cancer care.”
The 79 award-winning, cancer-care programs represent approximately 19 percent of programs surveyed by the CoC in 2012. A majority of recipients are community-based facilities. However, teaching hospitals, National Cancer Institute-designated Comprehensive Cancer Centers, Veterans Administration hospitals, and Network Cancer Programs also received this year’s award. “These 79 cancer programs surveyed in 2012 currently represent the best of the best—so to speak—when it comes to cancer care,” added Dr. McKellar. “Each of these facilities is not just meeting nationally recognized standards for the delivery of quality cancer care, they are exceeding them.”
About the Commission on Cancer’s Outstanding Achievement Award
Established in 2004, the CoC’s Outstanding Achievement Award is designed to recognize cancer programs that strive for excellence in providing quality care to cancer patients. Programs are evaluated on 29 cancer program standards categorized within one of four cancer program activity areas: cancer committee leadership, cancer data management, clinical services and quality improvement. Programs are further evaluated on seven commendation standards. Award recipients must have received commendation ratings in seven of the commendation standards, in addition to receiving a compliance rating for each of the 29 cancer program standards. For more information on program standards, visit: http://www.facs.org/cancer/index.html
About the American College of Surgeons Commission on Cancer
Established in 1922 by the ACS, the CoC is a consortium of professional organizations dedicated to improving patient outcomes and quality of life for cancer patients through standard-setting, prevention, research, education and the monitoring of comprehensive quality care. The CoC provides the public with information on the resources, services, and cancer treatment experience for each CoC-accredited cancer program online at: http://www.facs.org/cancerprogram/index.html
The CoC’s accreditation program encourages hospitals, treatment centers and other facilities to improve their quality of patient care through various cancer-related programs. There are currently more than 1,500 CoC-accredited cancer programs in the U.S. and Puerto Rico, representing 30 percent of all hospitals. CoC-accredited facilities diagnose and/or treat more than 70 percent of all newly diagnosed cancer patients each year. For more information on the CoC, visit: http://www.facs.org/cancer/index.html
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