Medical Oncology
Our Medical Oncologists at the Bienes Center are specially trained in diagnosing and treating cancer in adults using chemotherapy, hormonal therapy, biological therapy, and targeted therapy.
The Holy Cross Michael and Dianne Bienes Comprehensive Cancer Center has received reaccreditation from the Quality Oncology Practice Initiative (QOPI®) Certification Program, an affiliate of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO). The QOPI® Certification Program (QCP™) provides a three-year certification for outpatient hematology-oncology practices that meet nationally recognized standards for quality cancer care.
The recertification from ASCO and QOPI is a testament to our commitment to safe, comprehensive and quality care. We are very proud to meet core standards in areas of treatment that include treatment planning; staff training and education; chemotherapy orders and drug preparation; patient consent and education; safe chemotherapy administration; and monitoring and assessment of patient well-being.
The Bienes Cancer Center first achieved QOPI certification in March 2012 and is recertified through March 2018. In applying for recertification, the Bienes 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 the QOPI Certification Program.
Practices that achieve recertification through QOPI continue to demonstrate a strong commitment to providing patients with high quality care. The QOPI Certification Program allows oncology practices to engage in lifelong learning by providing not only the measures to assess the level of care they provide, but also the information and resources needed to help maintain quality.
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 QCP was launched in January 2010, with more than 250 practices already 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 not only scored above the threshold on the key QOPI quality measures, but met chemotherapy safety standards established by ASCO and the Oncology Nursing Society (ONS).
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. Based on this feedback, doctors 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 various areas of treatment.
The QCP is a project of ASCO’s Institute for Quality, an ASCO affiliate dedicated to innovative quality improvement programs. For more information, please visit: http://qopi.asco.org/certification.html.