Recap – 2018 Cancer Programs Annual Conference – Commission on Cancer
September 5-7, 2018
Registry Partners recently attended the 2018 Cancer Programs Annual Conference hosted by the Commission on Cancer (CoC), September 5th – 7th, 2018 in Chicago. The conference was very informative and served as an open forum between the staff and surveyors of the CoC and key stakeholders. During the conference, three projects for the American College of Surgeons (ACoS) and Commission on Cancer were highlighted.
- Accreditation Alignment Project: ACoS is embarking on an Accreditation Alignment Project that will encompass all accreditation programs (Cancer, Bariatric, Trauma, etc.). The ACoS has recognized each accreditation was created and designed by the individual specialty. This resulted in variance in how similar standards were conducted, measured and reviewed across multiple accreditation programs. The goal of this program is to take the currently siloed system and create a more congruent process among all accreditations. The impacts felt to the cancer programs will include: terminology, accreditation platform, site visit agendas, website updates, and ensuring consistent experiences across all accreditation programs.
- CoC Standards Revision Project: In conjunction with the accreditation alignment project the CoC is embarking on a standards revision project. This project will seek to revise standards to ensure they result in the improvement of patient care. This process will seek to ensure standards meet defined principles, gather evidence base for standards, identify new ways to confirm compliance and incorporate Operative Standards for Cancer Surgery. This project consists of 5 work groups: program management, clinical services, data and registry, outcomes/quality improvement/ outreach, and operative standards. The college will include multidisciplinary involvement as standards are reviewed. A tentative timeline has been established as:
- Drafts in early 2019
- Focus groups in Spring 2019
- Final standards released Fall 2019
- Implementation in programs January 2020
- ACoS Quality Data Platform Project: As was previously announced at the 2017 CoC meeting the national clinical cancer registry system, NCDB will be replaced with a new software platform from IQVIA. The current structure consists of two systems: RQRS and NCDB. The new platform, RCRS, will combine these two systems allowing the cancer registry to submit all cases into one database. All new and updated cases from the registry, regardless of primary site, will be imported into the RCRS system. This will drive quality measures and create patient alerts when applicable. A definitive timeline was not announced, however, this project will be piloted in the near future and programs interested in participating in this pilot were asked to email ncdb@facs.org.
The 2019 Cancer Programs Annual Conference is scheduled for August 8-10, 2019 in Rosemont (Chicago), Illinois.