ALEXANDRIA, Va. — Twenty practices in three countries elevated their standard of care and achieved Quality Oncology Practice Initiative (QOPI®) Certification in the second quarter of this year. The American Society of Clinical Oncology, Inc. (ASCO®) commends these practices that have demonstrated their commitment to providing the highest-quality oncology care to their patients, communities, and contemporaries.

“We commend these practices for their dedication to the highest-quality care for patients with cancer,” said ASCO President Howard A. “Skip” Burris III, MD, FACP, FASCO. “ASCO’s mission is to conquer cancer by promoting the highest quality care, and this only can be achieved in the clinical setting through our members around the world in practices of all settings who are taking steps to continually improve the care they provide.”

For the second quarter of 2019, the following practices achieved QOPI Certification or Re-Certification, which is valid for a three-year period:

• Americas Oncologia – Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
• Atlanta Cancer Care – Atlanta, GA
• Cancer Care Specialists of Illinois – Decatur, IL
• Carle Cancer Center – Urbana, IL
• Community Regional Cancer Centers – Indianapolis, IN
• Elmhurst Hematology Oncology Group – Elmhurst, IL
• Fairbanks Cancer Care Physicians, P.C. – Fairbanks, AK
• Harbin Clinic – Rome, GA
• Hematology Oncology Associates, PC – Medford, OR
• Hospital Paulistano – São Paolo, Brazil
• Hospital Universitario Central de Asturias - Medical Oncology Service – Oveido, Spain
• Marshfield Clinic Health System – Marshfield, WI
• Nebraska Cancer Specialists – Omaha, NE
• ProMedica Hematology Oncology Associates – Sylvania, OH
• Randolph Health Cancer Center – Asheboro, NC
• The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer – Houston-area locations – Houston, TX
• Tunnell Cancer Center – Lewes, DE
• UC Davis Comprehensive Cancer Center – Sacramento, CA
• Urology Cancer Center – Omaha, NE
• Virginia Cancer Institute – Richmond, VA

QOPI® is a voluntary self-assessment program that helps oncology practices assess and improve the quality of the care they provide to patients. More than 750 oncology practices have registered for QOPI, including international practices such as the three identified above in Brazil and Spain, respectively.

The QOPI® Certification Program, LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of ASCO that began in 2010, recognizes the delivery of high-quality care to patients in outpatient hematology-oncology practices. The QOPI Certification Standards serve as the framework for the program and as a guide to the best practices in oncology care. Individual practices are eligible to receive QOPI Certification based on their compliance with QOPI standards as assessed during an on-site survey. The QOPI quality standards address practice performance in several key areas, including:

• Creating a safe environment — staffing, competencies, and general policy
• Treatment planning, patient consent, and education
• Ordering, preparing, dispensing, and administering chemotherapy
• Monitoring after chemotherapy is given, including adherence, toxicity and complications.

More than 300 practices worldwide have current QOPI Certification. View the names and locations of all Certified practices around the world.

ASCO is dedicated to innovative quality improvement programs, such as QOPI and QOPI Certification, to foster the delivery of high-quality patient care around the world. For more information, please visit: https://practice.asco.org/quality-improvement/quality-programs.