Breaking Barriers Quality Improvement Collaborative

Breaking Barriers is a national Quality Improvement Project sponsored by ACS Cancer Programs that seeks to understand how reducing missed radiation therapy appointment (“no-show”) rates can support access to high-quality oncology care for all patients in diverse communities and care settings. 

The goal of this project is to:

• Build program capacity to identify barriers to cancer patients receiving timely and complete radiation therapy and then implement sustainable solutions to address the identified barriers.
• By the end of the improvement period, reduce the rate of "no-shows" to radiation therapy appointments by 20% from each participating program’s individual baseline.
• Build and continually expand partnerships with local, regional, and state organizations that address social-related health needs impacting access to healthcare
• Build a repository of best practices for addressing barriers to care that may serve as exemplars to other programs that could be adapted to varied practice environments beyond radiation oncology.

Please submit questions to cancerqi@facs.org.

Programs are encouraged to attend these webinars for more detailed information about the project. Attendance is requested by at least one member of each QI team, unless clinical care interferes Recordings and slides are available through the links below. Registration is required to listen to recorded webinars.

Any CoC- or NAPBC-accredited program may participate. Participation is optional and is not a requirement of accreditation. Programs choosing not to participate may still complete the required standards in the usual fashion.

Participants who have applied for accreditation but have not yet had a site visit may participate as long as a CoC Facility Identification Number (FIN) or NAPBC Company ID has been assigned.

Programs can claim either CoC credit or NAPBC credit, but not both.

Participating in the Breaking Barriers QI Collaborative will fulfill the following CoC Standards for 2023:

• Quality Improvement Initiative 7.3
• Addressing Barriers to Care 8.1

OR

Participating in the Breaking Barriers QI Collaborative will fulfill the following NAPBC Standards for 2023:

• Patient Navigation 2.2
• Quality and Outcomes 6.1 (counts toward one of two studies)