Central Georgia Cancer Care was recently selected, as the only center in the state and one of the few independent community-based oncology practices in the country, to participate in a new pilot from the Association for Clinical Oncology that will certify outpatient oncology group practices and health systems that meet a single set of comprehensive, expert-backed standards for patient-centered care delivery. The pilot is based on recently published oncology medical home standards (OMH) from the American Society of Clinical Oncology and the Community Oncology Alliance (COA). 

“We’re extremely proud to participate in this new pilot,” said Linda Hendricks, M.D., Managing Partner for Central Georgia Cancer Care. “With over 40 years of service to the community, this is all part of our continuing goal to deliver the highest level of oncology care available to our patients. The other practices chosen throughout the country are considerably larger than ours, so to be selected as an independent, community-based oncology practice is an honor.”

By using one single set of comprehensive standards that all stakeholders can agree to, the pilot aims to empower patients by providing an objective measurement for high-quality cancer care, reduce administrative burden for practices, and show payers which oncology practices are meeting the highest levels of quality cancer care using evidence-based measures. It also supports practices seeking to improve their performance so that all patients receive the highest quality care.

Central Georgia Cancer Care is one of only twelve practice groups and health systems across the country—representing 88 cancer center sites and nearly 500 oncologists—participating in the pilot. Additional cancer centers and health systems include:

• Blue Ridge Cancer Care, Roanoke, Va.

• Cancer & Hematology Centers of Western Michigan, Grand Rapids, Mich.

• Hematology Oncology Associates of Central New York, East Syracuse, N.Y.

• Memorial Cancer Institute, Hollywood, Fla.

• Nebraska Hematology-Oncology, PC, Lincoln, Neb.

• New England Cancer Specialists, Scarborough, Maine

• Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center - Jefferson Health, Philadelphia, Penn.

• Tennessee Oncology, a partner of One Oncology, Nashville, Tenn.

• The Center for Cancer and Blood Disorders, Fort Worth, Texas

• University of Colorado Cancer Center, Aurora, Colo.

• Yale New Haven Health- Smilow Cancer Hospital, New Haven, Conn.

“Practices participating in the ASCO Patient-Centered Cancer Care Certification pilot have demonstrated that they are committed to creating a culture of continuing quality improvement to better serve their patients,” said Howard A. “Skip” Burris III, Board Chair of the Association for Clinical Oncology. “We hope this pilot will create a cohesive care delivery system that simultaneously increases patient access to care, improves care coordination, and enhances overall quality.”  

Practices will be certified based on their adherence to the published ASCO-COA Oncology Medical Home Standards, which focus on seven different domains of cancer care, including: patient engagement; availability and access to care; evidence-based medicine; equitable and comprehensive team-based care; quality improvement; goals of care, palliative and end-of-life care discussions; and chemotherapy safety.

To learn more, visit: www.centralgacancercare.com or www.ascoassociation.org