Identifying Compliance Requirements for Cancer Accreditation Standards

Cancer programs that are accredited, or considering accreditation, by the Commission on Cancer (CoC), the National Accreditation Program for Breast Centers (NAPBC), and/or the National Accreditation Program for Rectal Cancer (NAPRC) must demonstrate full compliance with all applicable standards for the respective accreditation programs.  

Each standard is divided into three sections:

• Definition and Requirements
• Documentation
• Measure of Compliance

To demonstrate compliance with any individual standard, it is necessary for the cancer program to meet all the requirements outlined in the entire standard, as written, in the most recent editions of the accreditation standards manuals.

Noncompliance with requirements outlined in the Definition and Requirements section may result in a standard being rated as noncompliant. For this reason, it is crucial to read each standard in its entirety to confirm that all requirements are met.

The Documentation and Measure of Compliance sections are written to provide summary guidance on how compliance must be demonstrated and are not intended to stand alone or supersede the Definition and Requirements. Most standards cannot be summarized with just a few sentences, and vital information necessary for meeting full compliance will be missed if only the Measure of Compliance and/or Documentation sections are considered.

Questions regarding the cancer programs accreditation standards should be submitted through the CAnswer Forum.