Distinction by The Commission on Cancer recognizes program for exceeding standards
BALTIMORE – The MedStar Health Baltimore region cancer program has achieved Three-Year Accreditation by The Commission on Cancer (CoC), a quality program of the American College of Surgeons, that recognizes organizations for exceeding the standard requirements of care. This is the third time MedStar Health has earned this distinction in Baltimore.
To earn voluntary CoC accreditation, a cancer program must meet 34 quality care standards, be evaluated every three years through a survey process, and maintain levels of excellence in the delivery of comprehensive patient-centered care.
Because it is a CoC-accredited cancer center, the regional MedStar Health cancer program takes a multidisciplinary approach to treating cancer as a complex group of diseases that requires consultation among surgeons, medical and radiation oncologists, diagnostic radiologists, pathologists, and other cancer specialists. This multidisciplinary partnership results in data-proven improvements to patient care.
“To achieve this accreditation again shows consistency in providing quality care, at a level that goes beyond what is considered a gold standard. That is what we are in it for. That’s what all of us here at MedStar Health are so proud to be a part of,” said Mahsa Mohebtash, MD, medical director of MedStar Health Community Oncology “We will continue to strive in every discipline of the continuum, to ensure our patients get the best possible cancer care from diagnosis to rehabilitation.”
The CoC Accreditation Program provides the framework to improve quality of patient care through various cancer-related programs that focus on the full spectrum of cancer care. They include prevention, early diagnosis, cancer staging, optimal treatment, rehabilitation, life-long follow-up for recurrent disease, and end-of-life care. When patients receive care at a Baltimore MedStar Health hospital, they also have access to information on clinical trials and new treatments, genetic counseling, and patient centered services including psycho-social support, a patient navigation process, and a survivorship care plan that documents the care each patient receives and seeks to improve cancer survivors’ quality of life.
The Baltimore MedStar Health cancer program maintains a cancer registry and contributes data to the National Cancer Data Base (NCDB), a joint program of the CoC and American Cancer Society. This nationwide oncology outcomes database is the largest clinical disease registry in the world. Data on all types of cancer are tracked and analyzed through the NCDB and used to explore trends in cancer care. CoC-accredited cancer centers, in turn, have access to information derived from this type of data analysis, which is used to create national, regional, and state benchmark reports. These reports help CoC facilities with their quality improvement efforts.
Established in 1922 by the American College of Surgeons, the CoC is a consortium of professional organizations dedicated to improving patient outcomes and quality of life for cancer patients through standard-setting, prevention, research, education, and the monitoring of comprehensive, quality care. Its membership includes Fellows of the American College of Surgeons.
For more information, visit: www.facs.org/cancer.
Media Contact
Debra Schindler
410-274-1260
debra.schindler@medstar.net