ASCO’s QOPI Certification Program Recognizes Three Oncology Practices in Spain

Oct 19, 2017

The first three practices in Spain have received Quality Oncology Practice Initiative (QOPI®) certification through QOPI Certification Program™, LLC (QCP). The accreditations were given on September 8, 2017, at the European Society of Medical Oncology (ESMO) 2017 Congress in Madrid, Spain.

“The continuous improvement of the quality of cancer care that we provide is a worldwide effort,” said 2017-2018 ASCO President Bruce E. Johnson, MD, FASCO. “We commend these practices for demonstrating their commitment to high quality and safety excellence in the delivery of care to patients and for forging new ground within their country.”

QCP, which began in 2010, offers specialty 3-year certification to outpatient oncology practices demonstrating a commitment to quality. The three practices to receive certification are:

Servicio de Oncología Medica -
Hospital Universitario General de Valencia, Valencia, Spain

Servicio de Oncología Medica -
Instituto Valenciano de Oncología, Valencia, Spain

Servicio de Oncología Medica -
Hospital Universitario Ramón y
Cajal, Madrid, Spain

Each practice completed a comprehensive, voluntary assessment of its site against specified standards that are consistent with national guidelines. Practices that earn the QOPI Certification designation have scored well on key QOPI quality measures and have met chemotherapy standards established by ASCO and the Oncology Nursing Society in areas of treatment safety. Carlos Camps, MD, PhD, Vincente Guillem, MD, PhD, and Alfredo Carrato, MD, PhD, heads of the oncology departments of the three practices, agree in the high importance of this recognition, which will reinforce their commitment to quality in cancer patient care.

Applying for QOPI Certification in Spain is now possible because of a collaboration between QCP and the Foundation for Excellence and Quality in Oncology (ECO), a nonprofit foundation in Spain. Through this collaboration, ECO facilitated the certification efforts within Spain for these three practices, advising on the application of QOPI quality measures in Spain, conducting onsite reviews, and processing the necessary documentation for QOPI Certification. The applications then underwent ASCO’s traditional peer review by a team of oncology professionals, including physicians and nurses.

ECO 2017 Special Award

In addition to honoring the newly certified practices, ECO presented the QOPI Certification Program with its 2017 Special Award in the category “Award to the Best Initiative in Quality Care in Oncology” at the ESMO Congress. This is the first time an ECO Special Award has been granted to an international organization.

“ASCO is the world’s leading organization representing health care professionals who treat people with cancer,” said Dr. Guillem, who is president of the ECO Foundation. “QOPI is a worldwide referral in terms of quality improvement, with hundreds of practices certified.” 

QOPI, which ASCO established in 2006, is a voluntary self-assessment and improvement program to assist hematology-oncology and medical oncology practices in assessing the quality of the care they provide. Through QOPI, practices abstract data from patients’ medical records up to twice per year and enter this information into a secure database. ASCO established the QOPI Certification Program in 2010 to give QOPI participants an opportunity to critically evaluate internal processes that are indicative of a high-performing oncology team, identify where further improvements can be made, and implement a plan to put those improvements in place.

Currently, more than 300 practices in the United States, Greece, Brazil, and Spain have achieved QOPI Certification.

QOPI and the QOPI Certification Program are projects dedicated to innovative quality improvement programs. For more information, please visit instituteforquality.org/qopi-qcp.

QOPI and QCP are supported in part by the Conquer Cancer Foundation of ASCO.


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