Sylvester Recognized for High-Quality Cancer Care

Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine has been reaccredited by the Quality Oncology Practice Initiative (QOPI) Certification Program of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO). This program awards a three-year certification for outpatient hematology-oncology practices that meet nationally recognized standards for quality cancer care.

Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center.

“We are proud to be recertified by the ASCO QOPI program and grateful to our faculty and staff who made it possible,” said Stephen D. Nimer, M.D., Director of Sylvester. “To receive this certification again demonstrates our commitment to providing the highest quality of care to all our patients.”

In applying for recertification, Sylvester had to meet requirements that included participating in a voluntary comprehensive site assessment of clearly specified standards that are consistent with national guidelines.

“ASCO’s QOPI certification recognizes those oncology practices that are committed to delivering the highest quality of cancer care,” said Daniel F. Hayes, M.D., immediate past president of ASCO. “By achieving recertification, these practices have demonstrated their commitment to quality and safety excellence in the care they deliver to patients, as well as to the continuous process of quality 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 the QOPI program, practices abstract data from patients’ records and enter this information into a secure database. More than 900 oncology practices have registered for the QOPI program.

The QOPI Certification Program was launched in January 2010, and more than 250 practices are currently certified. This certification for outpatient oncology practices is the first program of its kind in the United States and designates those practices that not only scored above the threshold on the key QOPI quality measures, but also met chemotherapy safety standards established by ASCO and the Oncology Nursing Society.

QOPI analyzes individual practice data and compares it against 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 other practices across the country. Based on these comparisons, doctors and practices can identify areas for improvement.

To become certified, Sylvester had to submit to a practice-wide evaluation of its documentation standards. The QOPI certification program staff and steering group members then conducted on-site inspections to verify that the evaluation and documents were correct and that the practices met core standards in areas including 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.

Tags: American Society of Clinical Oncology, ASCO, Miller School of Medicine, QOPI, Quality Oncology Practice Initiative, Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of Miami