Joint symposium with the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO)

17.02.2012 11:10

At the upcoming German Cancer Congress (DKK 2012) there will be a joint symposium with the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) for the first time. The top-class event deals with the topic of quality of care in oncology. “Germany and the USA are struggling with similar problems in quality assurance. We seek discussion in order to show parallels and learn from each other,” explains Professor Peter Albers, President of the DKK 2012.

In Germany, the care landscape in oncology is characterized by the establishment of organ cancer centers and oncology centers. The doctors at these hospitals work in an interdisciplinary network to ensure comprehensive care for cancer patients - the hospitals only receive a quality seal if they are successful in the diagnosis and therapy apply the currently applicable evidence-based guidelines, i.e. work on the basis of the best scientific evidence available. In the case of breast cancer, over 90 % patients are now cared for at centers with a certificate from the German Cancer Society. New studies document high standards of treatment at these centers, as well as high patient satisfaction. “Whether care at interdisciplinary centers also improves survival rates and quality of life in the long term still needs to be comprehensively confirmed. “To do this, we need nationwide networked clinical cancer registries that can be used to track patients’ medical histories as completely as possible even after they are discharged from the hospital,” says Albers.

While Germany relies on oncology centers, there is little experience in this country with quality assurance in outpatient oncology care. The American QOPI system initiated by ASCO could provide guidance here. “QOPI was developed for outpatient oncologists and allows them to review their work processes based on defined guideline-based indicators. In this way, they can classify the quality of their own performance in comparison to other practices and improve it accordingly,” explains Professor Douglas Blayney, ASCO President 2009/2010 and medical director at the Stanford Cancer Center in California, USA. Blayney co-chairs the DKK 2012 Joint ASCO Symposium with Peter Albers and will present the QOPI system.

Link: http://www.krebsgesellschaft.de/dkk_2012_presse_akkreditierung,200714.html