The Facility Information Profile System (FIPS) is a data sharing project that benefits both consumers and providers of cancer care

Consumers Benefit from FIPS

FIPS is a collaborative project between the Commission on Cancer (CoC) and the American Cancer Society (ACS) to share data about cancer care at hospitals. The goal of FIPS is to meet the needs of today's consumers by providing useful information to cancer patients and the general public. FIPS helps people make educated decisions about their options for cancer care based on both the scope of services and the quality of care offered at hospitals accredited by the CoC. With a better understanding of cancer treatment options and available resources and services, patients and their loved ones can ask more specific questions of physicians and cancer care providers to assist with their health care needs.

How Patients Find the Information about Your Cancer Program

Using FIPS, a Web-based application, a hospital enters two types, or levels, of information about their CoC-accredited cancer program. Level I information refers to the resources and services a hospital cancer program provides to cancer patients and their families either on-site or by referral. Level II information is cancer caseload data that includes cancer cases diagnosed and treated at the hospital within a specified year by site and stage. No patient outcome data is included in FIPS. [Level II data is based on the information that programs submit to the National Cancer Data Base (NCDB).] Read more about the NCDB.

Through FIPS, your Level I data are available to consumers through the ACS, which displays the information on its Web site and references it through its National Cancer Information Center (NCIC) (1-800-ACS-2345). However, sharing Level II data with the public through the ACS is at the discretion of your hospital’s cancer committee.

Your Level I data are displayed through the Find a Cancer Hospital Locator which is a search engine on the ACS Web site. The Find a Cancer Hospital Locator allows the public to look for CoC-accredited facilities by zip code, city and state, hospital name, or by searching for specific resources and services.

Providers Benefit from FIPS

FIPS creates awareness of your hospital’s cancer care offerings among potential patients. For each CoC-accredited cancer program, FIPS offers a unique opportunity to: 

• increase your hospital’s visibility as a public resource
• market particular strengths and services
• promote quality cancer care within the communit.

Through the ACS National Cancer Information Center, operators provide targeted referrals to your hospital for resources and services. They also can provide your hospital Web site address, a map, and directions. Finally, with your Level II data, operators can provide detailed descriptive information about your hospital and its annual cancer caseload.

For questions regarding FIPS, please e-mail FIPS@facs.org.

Revised March 6, 2008

FIPS