ASCO’s global vision is, “A world where cancer is prevented or cured, and every survivor is healthy.” In its work toward achieving this vision, the Society offers a robust portfolio of programs that are continually expanding around the world that improve access to quality cancer care, support cancer professionals and leaders, and accelerate innovative cancer research.
In the past few years, the Quality Oncology Practice Initiative (QOPI®), QOPI® Certification Program, and Quality Training Program have been established in countries outside the United States. This year, ASCO has licensed its Quality Care Symposium to a Spanish oncology professional society, Fundación ECO para la Excelencia y la Calidad de la Oncología, marking the first time an ASCO meeting has been licensed to another organization either domestically or abroad.
By expanding these programs, ASCO is working to promote high-quality care for patients with cancer around the world by supporting the dedicated members of oncology care teams everywhere, giving them the tools to benchmark their quality metrics, set goals for process improvement, and optimize their operations and thus, patient care. ASCO is able to offer these programs as a result of its large and growing community of international members and long-standing collaborations with major oncology organizations and institutions around the world.
QOPI
QOPI is a platform for ASCO to work with its members and collaborators around the world to measure and promote the highest quality of care for patients. It is an oncologist-led, practice-based quality assessment program that helps practices create a culture of self-examination and improvement.
At present, QOPI is available in Australia, Brazil, all of the European Union, India, Mexico, New Zealand, Pakistan, the Philippines, Saudi Arabia, and the United States and its territories. In 2018, 557 physicians from 21 practices outside the United States participated in QOPI. The program is available to any practice with an ASCO member and there is no participation fee. Practices are responsible for costs related to staff time needed for training and data abstraction.
QOPI Certification Program
The QOPI Certification Program provides a 3-year certification for outpatient hematology/oncology practices that demonstrate commitment to quality. Practices participating in the QOPI Certification Program receive detailed reports to benchmark their care against other top-performing practices and learn from certification staff to boost the effectiveness of policies and procedures. At present, there are 13 practices outside the United States that are QOPI-certified: five in Brazil, one in Greece, one in Romania, one in Saudi Arabia, and five in Spain.
Quality Training Program
The Quality Training Program—which is offered in a 6-month or 1-day format—prepares physician-led teams of oncology providers to design, implement, and lead successful quality improvement activities in their practice settings. Participants learn how to identify techniques and tools used in quality improvement, identify relevant metrics, and structure a quality improvement project with support from experts in the field.
Licensing Opportunities
Quality Training Program: Conduct your own training sessions with licensed use of all the presentation slides, faculty instruction manual, and right to display a special ASCO logo.
Quality Care Symposium: This symposium brings together top leaders in the field to share strategies and methods for improving the measurement and implementation of quality and safety in cancer care. The licensed program—known as “ASCO Direct™ Highlights”—features up to 2 days of the latest developments in oncology quality from invited experts, panel discussions, and abstract presentations.
For further information, please contact licensing@asco.org. ■
For more information about QOPI®, QOPI® Certification, or the Quality Training Program, e-mail globalquality@asco.org. ASCO’s quality programs are supported in part by Conquer Cancer®, the ASCO Foundation.
© 2019. American Society of Clinical Oncology. All rights reserved.
