Oncology & Hematology Specialists garners national recognition for cancer care

SUBHASH SHARMA

INDIANAPOLIS – Franciscan Physician Network Oncology & Hematology Specialists has been recognized by the Quality Oncology Practice Initiative (QOPI^®) Certification Program, an affiliate of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO).

The QOPI^® Certification Program provides a three-year certification for outpatient hematology-oncology practices that meet the highest standards for quality cancer care.

 “QOPI certification recognizes our commitment to patient-centered cancer care,” said Subhash Sharma, MD, medical director of Oncology & Hematology Specialists. “It is evidence that our program is committed to the highest standards, continuous quality improvement, and to delivering our patients a consistently safe, efficient and effective experience.”

QOPI^® is a voluntary, self-assessment and improvement program launched by ASCO in 2006 to help hematology-oncology and medical oncology practices assess the quality of the care they provide to patients. Through the QOPI program, practices abstract data from patients’ records up to twice per year and enter this information into a secure database.

More than 850 oncology practices have registered in the QOPI program.

“QOPI is designed by clinical experts in oncology to give practices the ability to continuously improve the quality of care they provide,” said ASCO President Clifford A. Hudis, MD, FACP. “The QOPI Certification Program helps practices determine whether they are providing the best possible treatment and care to their patients and demonstrates their commitment to excellence and lifelong learning.”

The program – the first of its kind in the nation for outpatient oncology practices -- was launched in January 2010, with more than 200 practices already certified.

The QCP seal designates those practices that not only scored high on the key QOPI quality measures, but meet rigorous chemotherapy safety standards established by ASCO and the Oncology Nursing Society.

To become certified, practices have to submit to an evaluation of their entire practice and documentation standards. The QCP staff and steering group members then verify through
on-site inspection that the evaluation and documents are correct and that the practices met core standards in areas of treatment, including:

• treatment planning
• staff training and education
• chemotherapy orders and drug preparation
• patient consent and education
• safe chemotherapy administration
• monitoring and assessment of patient well-being

The QOPI Certification Program is a project of ASCO’s Institute for Quality, an ASCO affiliate dedicated to innovative quality improvement programs. For more information, please visit: http://qopi.asco.org/certification.html.

The physicians with Oncology & Hematology Specialists include Subhash Sharma, MD; Nadeem Ikhlaque, MD; Eric Rubenstein, MD; Sarah Ali, MD; Michael Slaughter, MD, PhD; Laurence Bates, MD; and Jaime Ayon, MD.