Tulane Medical Center was recently reaccredited by the Commission on Cancer (CoC) of the American College of Surgeons for maintaining levels of excellence in the delivery of comprehensive, patient-centered care.
To earn voluntary CoC accreditation, a cancer program must meet or exceed 34 quality care standards, be evaluated every three years through a survey process, and maintain levels of excellence in the delivery of comprehensive patient-centered care. Three-Year Accreditation with Commendation is only awarded to a facility that exceeds standard requirements at the time of its triennial survey.
“We pride ourselves on taking a comprehensive, patient-centered approach to oncology care,” said Laura Godel, Tulane Health System’s associate vice president of oncology services. “From our bone marrow transplant program to treat blood cancers to our new multidisciplinary prostate cancer clinic, our physicians and caregivers work together to ensure that each patient receives the best, individualized treatment plan possible.”
Because it is a CoC-accredited cancer center, Tulane Medical Center takes a multidisciplinary approach to treating cancer as a complex group of diseases requiring consultation among surgeons, medical and radiation oncologists, diagnostic radiologists, pathologists, and other cancer specialists. This multidisciplinary partnership results in improved patient care.
Like all CoC-accredited facilities, Tulane Medical Center maintains a cancer registry and contributes data to the National Cancer Data Base (NCDB), a joint program of the CoC and American Cancer Society (ACS). This nationwide oncology outcomes database is the largest clinical disease registry in the world. Data on all types of cancer is tracked and analyzed through the NCDB and used to explore trends in cancer care. CoC-accredited cancer centers, in turn, have access to information derived from this type of data analysis, which is used to create national, regional, and state benchmark reports. These reports help CoC facilities with their quality improvement efforts.