HASTINGS — The largest oncology society in the United States recently recognized Morrison Cancer Center for meeting nationally recognized quality cancer care standards.
The Quality Oncology Practice Initiative (QOPI®) Certification Program is an affiliate of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO). QOPI® awarded the Morrison Cancer Center a three-year certification.
“We’re extremely proud to receive this certification, which underscores our commitment to excellence for our patients,” said Mark Callahan, Mary Lanning Healthcare Chief Operations Officer.
The Morrison Cancer Center participated in a voluntary comprehensive site assessment and was compared to national guidelines and standards.
“QOPI® provides oncology practices with the information needed to evaluate and continually improve the quality of care they provide for patients,” said ASCO President Peter Paul Yu, MD, FACP, FASCO. “Since its start in 2010, The QOPI® Certification Program allows practices to maintain their commitment to excellence by providing high quality care for patients with cancer.”
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. 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 are also able to compare their performance to data from other practices across the country.
To become certified, practices have to submit to an evaluation of their entire practice and documentation standards. The 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.