THE AMERICAN COLLEGE OF SURGEONS COMMISSION ON CANCER
CONVENES MEETING TO FOCUS ON QUALITY OF CANCER CARE

CHICAGO: The Commission on Cancer of the American College of Surgeons will hold a multidisciplinary conference centered on cancer care quality issues June 19-20, 2006, in Chicago, IL. The meeting, “Commission on Cancer 2006 and Beyond: Measuring the Quality of Your Cancer Care,” will feature presentations highlighting the need for the delivery of high-quality cancer care, and will attract health care professionals from across the spectrum of cancer care who see the ability to provide quality care as the top priority in caring for cancer patients.

The Hilton Chicago will serve as the headquarters hotel for the meeting and will house sessions that create a dialog aimed at working to shape the future of cancer care in the United States. The interactive sessions will emphasize the need to redefine current approaches to cancer management and also will highlight the work of the Commission on Cancer (CoC).

The CoC conference will feature guest lectures by a faculty of prominent leaders in cancer care–an opening keynote given by Rodger Winn, MD, of the National Quality Forum and a closing keynote address given by Mitch Stoller, president and CEO of the Lance Armstrong Foundation.

Sessions of interest to reporters are:

Quality Assessment—The Need for High Quality
Monday, June 19, 8:15–9:00 am

Examining the fact that the medical health care system has become focused on the delivery of care that is of high quality, this session evaluates the impetus for this focus on quality, the thrust of the quality movement, the foundations of a solid quality assessment structure, and the evolution of a quality assessment system.

Supportive Services–The Spectrum of Quality Care
Monday, June 19, 10:30–11:30 am

With advances in cancer treatment and the growing number of cancer survivors, the need to address cancer treatment effects on quality of life and the connection between quality of life for cancer patients and access to quality care has increased. Three organizations will offer insight into the broad spectrum of physical, psychological, social, and spiritual needs of cancer patients and their caregivers and how these needs can be met through the wide range of services available.

Clinical Trials and the Delivery of Quality Care
Monday, June 19, 1:00 pm (Repeated 3:15 pm)

This session will address the need for clinical trials and the perception of clinical trials in the delivery of quality care. Discussion will focus on methods for developing effective adult clinical trials by using a successful pediatric accrual model as an example and using clinical data to develop appropriate trials. Strategies for clinical trial development and a successful model within the community hospital setting will be highlighted.

Data-Driven Quality Initiatives
Monday, June 19, 1:00 pm (Repeated 3:15 pm)

Addressing the importance of national cancer data in the evaluation of cancer care, this session will highlight the role of the National Cancer Data Base in creating a platform for comparing data from institutions across the nation as the basis for a comprehensive approach to standardized cancer care that improves clinical treatment and outcomes for cancer patients.

Reporters who plan to cover the CoC meeting should contact Ms. Cory Suzan Petty, ACS Office of Public Information, 312-202-5328, e-mail: cpetty@facs.org.

The Commission on Cancer is a consortium of professional organizations dedicated to improving survival and quality of life for cancer patients through standard-setting, prevention, research, education, and the monitoring of comprehensive quality care. Established by the American College of Surgeons in 1922, the multidisciplinary CoC sets standards for quality multidisciplinary cancer care delivered primarily in hospital settings; surveys hospitals to assess compliance with those standards; collects standardized and quality data from approved hospitals to measure treatment patterns and outcomes; and uses the data to evaluate hospital provider performance and develop effective educational interventions to improve cancer care outcomes at the national and local level.

Online June 14, 2006

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