Administration of oral chemotherapy: results from three rounds of the quality oncology practice initiative.

Purpose: Although use of oral chemotherapy is becoming more prevalent, little is known about the quality of care that patients receive when these agents are prescribed. Moreover, few practice-level systems are in place to ensure safe management of oral chemotherapy in the vulnerable population of patients with cancer.

Methods: We analyzed results from 155 practices that were voluntarily participating in the American Society of Clinical Oncology Quality Oncology Practice Initiative (QOPI) program on 17 test measures of oral chemotherapy administration and management in at least one of three collection periods: spring or fall of 2012, or spring of 2013.

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.

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.

Michigan oncology practices showed varying adherence rates to practice guidelines, but quality interventions improved care.

Despite improvements in care for patients with cancer, and in their survival rates, it is not clear that best practices are uniformly delivered to patients. We measured the quality of outpatient cancer care, using validated quality measures, in a consortium of thirty-six outpatient oncology practices in Michigan. We discovered that throughout the measurement period, for breast and colorectal cancer care, there was a more than 85 percent rate of adherence to quality care processes.

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.

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.

Evolution and elements of the quality oncology practice initiative measure set.

Background: Over the past 5 years, the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) has supported the development of a Web-based quality-reporting tool in response to a recognized need to provide medical oncologists the opportunity to demonstrate the quality of care that they are providing to patients.

Methods: The development of quality measures, their basis in the literature, and the descriptions and organizational structure of the measures are discussed.

Results: Specific results are the property of practices and are not shared outside of the practices except in aggregate.

Measuring supportive care in medical oncology practice: lessons learned from the quality oncology practice initiative.

We provide a brief review of the use of quality measures to assess supportive care in the medical oncology office. Specifically, we discuss the development and implementation of supportive care measures in the Quality Oncology Practice Initiative (QOPI), a voluntary quality measurement and improvement program of the American Society of Clinical Oncology. QOPI has demonstrated that medical oncologists voluntarily engage in self-assessment and often select measures related to supportive care for measurement and improvement.

Improvement in oncology practice performance through voluntary participation in the Quality Oncology Practice Initiative.

Purpose: The Quality Oncology Practice Initiative (QOPI) became available to all American Society of Clinical Oncology member physicians in 2006 as a voluntary medical oncology practice-based quality measurement and improvement project. QOPI assesses practice performance for a series of evidence- and consensus-based process measures, relying on practices to complete structured chart reviews and submit data via a secure Web-based portal.

Methods: This analysis focused on the 71 practices that participated in both the March and September 2006 data collections (7,624 charts abstracted in March and 10,240 in September).

A retrospective analysis of disability and its related costs among employees with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Objective: The objective of this study was to examine the frequency and cost of disability among actively employed individuals with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

Methods: The authors conducted a retrospective analysis of disability and claims data. Employees 40 to 63 years old with a diagnosis of COPD between January 1, 2001, and March 31, 2004, were identified, and controls were matched 2:1 to these subjects.