June E. Nylen Cancer Center Receives Recognition for High-Quality Cancer Care from the Largest Oncology Association in United States
The June E. Nylen Cancer Center (JENCC) in Sioux City has been recognized by the QOPI® Certification Program, LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Association for Clinical Oncology and an affiliate of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO), as successfully completing a three-year certification program for outpatient hematology-oncology practices that meet nationally recognized standards for quality cancer care.
“We’re extremely proud to receive this certification from the Quality Oncology Practice Initiative or QOPI® Certification Program, which demonstrates our commitment to excellence for our patients,” said Krista McCullough, Executive Director of the June E. Nylen Cancer Center. “I would like to thank our dedicated physicians and staff who work hard every day to pursue quality and safety in order to improve outcomes for our patients. The JENCC team strives to create a culture which supports collaboration, mutual trust, and authentic communication because we don’t just treat cancer, we treat people and believe it’s purposeful and a privilege. We are grateful for the thousands of Siouxland patients and their families who trust their care to us. That is why we sought this voluntary certification.”
In applying for certification, the June E. Nylen 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.
“QOPI Certification is awarded to oncology practices that have made an extraordinary commitment to going above and beyond in the provision of high-quality cancer care,” said Immediate Past Board Chair of the Association Howard A. “Skip” Burris III, MD, FACP, FASCO. “A practice that achieves this certification is continuously tracking and analyzing data to evaluate and improve processes leading to the highest-quality cancer care possible for our patients.”
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 the Society and the Oncology Nursing Society.
McCullough adds the QOPI® Certification is not the only accreditation the June E. Nylen Cancer Center has earned. Other national recognitions include:
Accredited by the American College of Radiation Oncology (ACRO) for quality patient care including the safe and effective use of radiation therapy.
Accredited by the American College of Radiology (ACR) for clinical excellence in imaging services including CT scan, PET scan, and low-dose CT lung screening.
Lab accreditation by the Commission on Office Laboratory Association (COLA) for the highest standards of quality in all its day-to-day operations, demonstrating continued accuracy in the performance of proficiency testing, and complying with all regulatory requirements.
About the QOPI® Certification Program
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, click here.
About the American Society of Clinical Oncology and the Association for Clinical Oncology
The American Society of Clinical Oncology (the Society) and the Association for Clinical Oncology (the Association) are committed to making a world of difference in cancer care. The Society and the Association represent nearly 45,000 oncology professionals who care for people living with cancer. Through research, education, and promotion of the highest-quality patient care, the Society works to conquer cancer and create a world where cancer is prevented or cured, and every survivor is healthy. The Association works to ensure that all individuals with cancer have access to high-quality, affordable care; that the cancer care delivery system supports oncology providers in their delivery of optimal cancer care; and that our nation supports federal funding for cancer research as well as efforts centered on cancer prevention, drug development, and clinical trials. Learn more about the Society at www.ASCO.org, explore patient education resources at www.Cancer.Net, and learn more about the Association at www.ascoassociation.org.
About QOPI Certification Program LLC
QOPI® Certification Program, LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Association for Clinical Oncology (the Association) and an affiliate of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (the Society), is 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 the Society and the Oncology Nursing Society in various areas of treatment and chemotherapy safety.