Performance Measures Based on How Adults With Cancer Feel and Function: Stakeholder Recommendations and Feasibility Testing in Six Cancer Centers.

Purpose: Patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) that assess how patients feel and function have potential for evaluating quality of care. Stakeholder recommendations for PRO-based performance measures (PMs) were elicited, and feasibility testing was conducted at six cancer centers.

Methods: Interviews were conducted with 124 stakeholders to determine priority symptoms and risk adjustment variables for PRO-PMs and perceived acceptability.

2016 Updated American Society of Clinical Oncology/Oncology Nursing Society Chemotherapy Administration Safety Standards, Including Standards for Pediatric Oncology.

Purpose To update the ASCO/Oncology Nursing Society (ONS) Chemotherapy Administration Safety Standards and to highlight standards for pediatric oncology. Methods The ASCO/ONS Chemotherapy Administration Safety Standards were first published in 2009 and updated in 2011 to include inpatient settings. A subsequent 2013 revision expanded the standards to include the safe administration and management of oral chemotherapy.

American Society of Clinical Oncology Policy Statement on Clinical Pathways in Oncology.

The use of clinical pathways in oncology care is increasingly important to patients and oncology providers as a tool for enhancing both quality and value. However, with increasing adoption of pathways into oncology practice, concerns have been raised by ASCO members and other stakeholders. These include the process being used for pathway development, the administrative burdens on oncology practices of reporting on pathway adherence, and understanding the true impact of pathway use on patient health outcomes.

ReCAP: Feasibility and Accuracy of Extracting Cancer Stage Information From Narrative Electronic Health Record Data.

Purpose: Cancer stage, one of the most important prognostic factors for cancer-specific survival, is often documented in narrative form in electronic health records (EHRs). Such documentation results in tedious and time-consuming abstraction efforts by tumor registrars and other secondary users. This information may be amenable to extraction by automated methods.

Results of the 2013 American Society of Clinical Oncology National Oncology Census.

Purpose: The American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) National Oncology Census (Census) provides a mechanism for ASCO to systematically gather and analyze information about current practice structures and potential changes at a time when practices are working to adapt to increasing administrative and financial pressures. The Census is conducted annually and reports on new and trending data.

Methods: The 2013 Census was launched on May 30, 2013, as a national survey of oncology practices.

Quality of cancer family history and referral for genetic counseling and testing among oncology practices: a pilot test of quality measures as part of the American Society of Clinical Oncology Quality Oncology Practice Initiative.

Purpose: Family history of cancer (CFH) is important for identifying individuals to receive genetic counseling/testing (GC/GT). Prior studies have demonstrated low rates of family history documentation and referral for GC/GT.

Methods: CFH quality and GC/GT practices for patients with breast (BC) or colon cancer (CRC) were assessed in 271 practices participating in the American Society of Clinical Oncology Quality Oncology Practice Initiative in fall 2011.

2013 updated American Society of Clinical Oncology/Oncology Nursing Society chemotherapy administration safety standards including standards for the safe administration and management of oral chemotherapy.

In 2009, ASCO and the Oncology Nursing Society (ONS) published standards for the safe use of parenteral chemotherapy in the outpatient setting, including issues of practitioner orders, preparation, and administration of medication. In 2011, these were updated to include inpatient facilities. In December 2011, a multistakeholder workgroup met to address the issues associated with orally administered antineoplastics, under the leadership of ASCO and ONS.

American Society of Clinical Oncology National Census of Oncology Practices: preliminary report.

In response to reports of increasing financial and administrative burdens on oncology practices and a lack of systematic information related to these issues, American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) leadership started an effort to collect key practice-level data from all oncology practices in the United States. The result of the effort is the ASCO National Census of Oncology Practices (Census) launched in June 2012. The initial Census work involved compiling an inventory of oncology practices from existing lists of oncology physicians in the United States.

2013 updated American Society of Clinical Oncology/Oncology Nursing Society chemotherapy administration safety standards including standards for the safe administration and management of oral chemotherapy.

In 2009, the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) and the Oncology Nursing Society (ONS) published standards for the safe use of parenteral chemotherapy in the outpatient setting, including issues of practitioner orders, preparation, and administration of medication. In 2011, these were updated to include inpatient facilities. In December 2011, a multistakeholder workgroup met to address the issues associated with orally administered antineoplastics, under the leadership of ASCO and ONS.

Measuring the improving quality of outpatient care in medical oncology practices in the United States.

Purpose: The American Society of Clinical Oncology Quality Oncology Practice Initiative (QOPI) has provided a method for measuring process-based practice quality since 2006. We sought to determine whether QOPI scores showed improvement in measured quality over time and, if change was demonstrated, which factors in either the measures or participants were associated with improvement.

Methods: The analysis included 156 practice groups from a larger group of 308 that submitted data from 2006 to 2010.

Implementing a breast cancer registry and treatment plan/summary program in clinical practice: a pilot program.

Background: There is a need to better measure and improve the quality of oncology care and improve communication with patients and other providers. The American Society of Clinical Oncology Breast Cancer Registry (BCR) pilot evaluated the feasibility and acceptability of prospective data collection for quality assessment in daily clinical practice. Data were used to create and share treatment plans/summaries (TPSs) at the point of care.

Revisions to the 2009 american society of clinical oncology/oncology nursing society chemotherapy administration safety standards: expanding the scope to include inpatient settings.

In November 2009, ASCO and the Oncology Nursing Society (ONS) jointly published a set of 31 voluntary chemotherapy safety standards for adult patients with cancer, as the end result of a highly structured, multistakeholder process. The standards were explicitly created to address patient safety in the administration of parenteral and oral chemotherapeutic agents in outpatient oncology settings. In January 2011, a workgroup consisting of ASCO and ONS members was convened to review feedback received since publication of the standards, to address interim changes in practice, and to modify the standards as needed.

Measuring and Improving Value of Care in Oncology Practices: ASCO Programs from Quality Oncology Practice Initiative to the Rapid Learning System.

Rising cancer care costs are no longer sustainable. Medical oncologists must focus on providing the maximum value to their patients; improving short-term, intermediate and long-term outcomes; and managing overall costs. Accurate measurement of outcomes and overall cost is essential to informing providers and institutions and in the quest for continuous improvement in value.

Revisions to the 2009 American Society of Clinical Oncology/Oncology Nursing Society chemotherapy administration safety standards: expanding the scope to include inpatient settings.

In November 2009, the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) and the Oncology Nursing Society (ONS) jointly published a set of 31 voluntary chemotherapy safety standards for adult patients with cancer, as the end result of a highly structured, multistakeholder process. The standards were explicitly created to address patient safety in the administration of parenteral and oral chemotherapeutic agents in outpatient oncology settings. In January 2011, a workgroup consisting of ASCO and ONS members was convened to review feedback received since publication of the standards, to address interim changes in practice, and to modify the standards as needed.

Advancing performance measurement in oncology: quality oncology practice initiative participation and quality outcomes.

The American health care system, including the cancer care system, is under pressure to improve patient outcomes and lower the cost of care. Government payers have articulated an interest in partnering with the private sector to create learning communities to measure quality and improve the value of health care. In 2006, the American Society for Clinical Oncology (ASCO) unveiled the Quality Oncology Practice Initiative (QOPI), which has become a key component of the measurement system to promote quality cancer care.

Report on the ASCO 2010 Provider-Payer Initiative Meeting.

The ASCO Provider-Payer Initiative meeting was convened to explore ways in which providers and payers could work together to improve patient care.

Advancing performance measurement in oncology.

The American healthcare system, including the cancer care system, is under pressure to improve patient outcomes and lower the cost of care. Government payers have articulated an interest in partnering with the private sector to create learning communities to measure quality and improve the value of healthcare. In 2006, the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) unveiled the Quality Oncology Practice Initiative (QOPI), which has become a key component of the measurement system to promote quality cancer care.

ASCO Provisional Clinical Opinion: Chronic Hepatitis B Virus Infection in Patients Receiving Cytotoxic Chemotherapy for Treatment of Malignant Diseases.

What does the ASCO provisional clinical opinion on hepatitis B virus mean for practices?