The Karmanos Cancer Institute at McLaren Bay Region has been recognized by the QOPI® Certification Program LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of the American Society of Clinical Oncology, Inc. (ASCO®), as successfully completing a three-year certification program for outpatient hematology-oncology practices that meet nationally recognized standards for quality cancer care. The QOPI® Certification Program builds on ASCO’s Quality Oncology Practice Initiative (QOPI®).
“On behalf of Drs. Cook, Abramson, Levandowski and Kukreeja, we are most pleased to receive QOPI Certification,” said Nancy King, Director of the Karmanos Cancer Institute of McLaren Bay Region. “This reflects our ongoing commitment to our patients and community to provide state of the art, clinically excellent oncology care. We are proud of the work our team of oncologists, pharmacists, patient care and administrative team members did to achieve this certification, which supports McLaren’s ongoing mission to be the best value in health care as defined by quality outcomes and cost.”
In applying for certification, the Karmanos Cancer Institute 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 the QOPI® Certification Program.
“By choosing to go through and then successfully completing ASCO’s QOPI® Certification process, a practice demonstrates its dedication to providing high-quality care to patients with cancer,” said ASCO President Monica M. Bertagnolli, MD, FACS, FASCO. “It is a concrete action a practice has taken to fully realize a commitment to quality, safety, and continual process 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 QOPI®, practices abstract data from patients’ records up to twice per year and enter this information into a secure database. More than 750 oncology practices have registered for QOPI®.
The QOPI® Certification Program, LLC was launched in January 2010, and nearly 300 practices are currently certified. This certification for outpatient oncology practices is the first program of its kind for oncology in the United States and in 2016 was expanded internationally. The QOPI® Certification Program 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 170 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, doctors and practices can identify areas for improvement.
To become QOPI® Certified, practices have to submit to an evaluation of their entire practice and documentation standards. The QOPI® Certification Program staff and committee members then verify through an on-site survey that the evaluation and documents are correct and that the practices met core standards in areas of treatment, including:
- Creating a safe environment—staffing, competencies, and general policy
- Treatment planning, patient consent, and education
- Ordering, preparing, dispensing, and administering chemotherapy
- Monitoring after chemotherapy is administered, including adherence, toxicity, and complications
- 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 QOPI® Certification Program are projects dedicated to innovative quality improvement programs. For more information, please visit: https://practice.asco.org/quality-improvement/quality-programs.
About McLaren Health Care
McLaren Health Care, headquartered in Grand Blanc, Michigan, is a fully integrated health network committed to quality, evidence-based patient care and cost efficiency. The McLaren system includes 14 hospitals, ambulatory surgery centers, imaging centers, a 490-member employed primary and specialty care physician network, commercial and Medicaid HMOs covering more than 620,000 lives in Michigan and Indiana, home health and hospice providers, retail medical equipment showrooms, pharmacy services, and a wholly owned medical malpractice insurance company. McLaren operates Michigan’s largest network of cancer centers and providers, anchored by the Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute, one of only 49 NCI-designated comprehensive centers in the U.S. McLaren has 26,000 employees and more than 52,500 network providers. Its operations are housed in more than 350 facilities serving the entire Lower Peninsula along with a portion of the Upper Peninsula. Learn more at www.mclaren.org.
About ASCO
Founded in 1964, the American Society of Clinical Oncology, Inc. (ASCO®) is committed to making a world of difference in cancer care. As the world’s leading organization of its kind, ASCO represents nearly 45,000 oncology professionals who care for people living with cancer. Through research, education, and promotion of the highest-quality patient care, ASCO works to conquer cancer and create a world where cancer is prevented or cured, and every survivor is healthy. ASCO’s Conquer Cancer Foundation supports the Society by funding groundbreaking research and education across cancer’s full continuum. Learn more at www.ASCO.org, explore patient education resources at www.Cancer.Net, and follow us on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and YouTube.
About QOPI Certification Program LLC
QOPI Certification Program LLC is a wholly owned subsidiary of the American Society of Clinical Oncology, Inc. (ASCO®) dedicated to recognizing exemplary commitment to safety and quality in oncology patient care. Practices that have achieved QOPI® Certification have scored well on key QOPI® quality measures and have met chemotherapy safety standards established by ASCO and the Oncology Nursing Society in various areas of treatment and chemotherapy safety.