In the first national certification program of its kind, The American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) and its affiliate, the Quality Oncology Practice Initiative (QOPI®) Certification Program recognized the first 16 oncology practices to obtain the new QOPI certification. The QOPI certification program recognizes oncology practices that meet or exceed QOPI standards for more than 24 selected rigorous, evidence- or expert consensus opinion-based measures for cancer care, and additionally, show evidence of meeting 17 specific chemotherapy safety standards.

"Having a national certification program that acknowledges the highest standards of cancer care delivery is a major milestone for health care in America," said Douglas W. Blayney, ASCO President. "Not only should these community oncology practices feel tremendous pride in their QOPI certification, but their patients can be confident in the quality of care they are receiving."

More than 80 percent of cancer treatment in the U.S. is delivered in communitybased practices, and the first 16 practices to obtain the QOPI certification represent a diverse cross section of cancer care in America. They include:

Adele R. Decof Comprehensive Cancer Center, Providence, RI
Carolyn B. Hendricks, MD, PA, Bethesda, MD
Crystal Run Healthcare, LLP, Middletown, NY
Fox Valley Hematology and Oncology, SC, Appleton, WI
Hematology Oncology Associates of Brooklyn, Brooklyn, NY
Louisiana Oncology Associates - Lafeyette, Lafeyette, LA
Lynchburg Hematology Oncology, Lynchburg, VA
Maine General Medical Center Harold Alfond Center for Cancer Care, Augusta, ME
Medical Oncology Associates of Augusta, PC, Augusta, GA
Mountain States Tumor Institute, Boise, ID
Northern Michigan Hematology/Oncology, Petoskey, MI
Presbyterian Medical Group, Albuquerque, NM
Sparrow Regional Cancer Center - Sparrow Medical Oncology, Lansing, MI
The Jones Clinic, Germantown, TN
The West Clinic, Memphis, TN
West Michigan Cancer Center, Kalamazoo, MI

QOPI is a voluntary, self-assessment and improvement program launched by ASCO in 2006 to help oncology practices assess the quality of care they provide to patients. The program evaluates five main areas in cancer care:

- documentation of care
- chemotherapy planning, administration, and treatment summary
- pain assessment and control
- smoking cessation
- psychosocial support

Practices are also evaluated on end-of-life care and symptom management in four common cancers, including breast, colorectal, non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and non-small cell lung cancer. Through the QOPI program, practices collect general information from patients' medical records twice a year and enter it into a secure database. This data is then analyzed by QOPI to determine how well the practice performed according to a host of evidence- and expert consensus opinion-based performance benchmarks.

QOPI then provides feedback reports to participating practices to help them to know where they are performing well and to help identify areas for improvement. Practices are also able to compare their performance relative to other practices across the country. Based on this information, doctors and their practices are able to focus on specific areas for improvement. Approximately 580 practices currently participate in the QOPI program. Oncology practices that earn the QOPI certification are certified for three years.

Source
American Society of Clinical Oncology