What's New in Policy & Practice

ASCO has launched the Quality Oncology Practice Initiative (QOPI^®) Certification Program to recognize oncology practices that achieve rigorous standards for high-quality cancer care. Through this program, ASCO hopes to:

• Promote the highest quality cancer care as defined by clinician experts;
• Provide a trusted solution to satisfy external demand for quality activities; and
• Reduce redundant programs or requirements for oncology practices.

"Increasingly, oncology practices are being asked by payors, patients, and others to attest to the quality of care they provide,” ASCO President Douglas W. Blayney, MD, said. “QOPI Certification will demonstrate a practice’s commitment to delivering high-quality cancer care."

Performance benchmarks can help practitioners recognize areas for needed improvement and work towards making the necessary changes in those specific areas. ASCO hopes that the process of preparing for and completing the program will stimulate internal discussion among practitioners about opportunities for improvement and implementation of improved systems.

Outpatient hematology-oncology practices that complete the program will be certified for three years based on their achievement in selected QOPI chart abstraction measures and QOPI Certification Site Assessment. For practices that do not achieve certification initially, AS CO will provide improvement resources that can help ensure success when the practices attempt the certification process again.

QOPI participation is the first step to achieving QOPI Certification. QOPI is a voluntary, self-assessment program to enable hematology-oncology and medical oncology practices to assess the quality of care they provide to patients. Participating practices abstract and submit data from patient records twice a year. ASCO analyzes these data for adherence to more than 80 evidence-based and consensus quality measures and provides feedback reports to participating practices. Individual practices can compare their performance to aggregate data from other practices across the country. Based on these data, doctors can focus on specific areas for quality improvement. Currently, nearly 500 oncology practices are enrolled in QOPI .

The QOPI Certification Program will be available to all practices that meet specific performance requirements and that pass a new site assessment. Practices that participate in the fall 2009 QOPI data collection process will be the first eligible to receive certification in early 2010.

For more information on the QOPI Certification Program, visit qopi.asco.org/ certification or send an e-mail to qopicertification@asco.org.

QOPI® Certification Program FAQs What is the first step to achieving QOPI Certification? QOPI participation is the first step to achieving QOPI Certification. Practices that meet the scoring requirements in the fall 2009 QOPI data abstraction round will be the first eligible to achieve Certification in early 2010. What other steps are required to achieve QOPI Certification? All practices will have to meet a set of structural quality standards regarding safe chemotherapy administration. Also, all Certification materials/data submitted will be subject to audit. When can I apply for QOPI Certification? Practices may apply for Certification after completion of any QOPI data abstraction round, if scoring requirements are met. Practices must apply prior to the initiation of the next QOPI data collection round. Practices that meet the scoring requirements during the fall 2009 QOPI round will be the first eligible to apply for Certification in January 2010. What documentation is required to apply for QOPI Certification? To be reviewed for QOPI Certification, a practice must submit the QOPI Certification online application, appropriate practice fee, QOPI Certification Site Assessment questionnaire and supportive documentation, and requested chart audit information. How long will it take to achieve Certification? Once a practice has submitted the complete Certification program materials, the practice will be awarded QOPI-Certification Pending status. Following successful review of submitted materials and audit activities, QOPI Certification will be awarded. The Certification review process is expected to take about three months. How much does QOPI cost? QOPI is a free ASCO member benefit. How much does QOPI Certification cost? The cost of Certification is based on the number of hematologist/oncologist full-time equivalents at the practice. Introductory pricing will be in effect for 2010. For full details, please visit qopi.asco.org/application. Why should I achieve QOPI Certification? Participation in the QOPI Certification process should provide the practice with quality improvement goals, learning opportunities, and feedback. Also, many payors, employers, and patients are looking for meaningful indicators that an oncology practice is achieving high-quality care. QOPI Certification will be a clear designation from ASCO that you can refer to in your practice communications and marketing materials.

Clinical Oncology Requirements for the EHR (CORE): A Collaborative Project of ASCO and NCI ASCO and the National Cancer Institute (NCI) have formed a collaboration to provide a clear understanding of the electronic health record (EHR) functions needed to support an oncologist in clinical practice, paving the way for development of oncology-specific products. The Clinical Oncology Requirements for the EHR (CORE) project supports ASCO’s goal of increasing the use of EHR s by clinical oncologists. Clinical oncology involves many care processes, such as chemotherapy administration, that are not supported by the EHR products currently on the market. Consequently, many oncologists are reluctant to adopt them. The CORE project comes at an opportune time, as the Medicare and Medicaid programs will begin providing bonuses to physicians who use EHR s beginning in 2011. In addition, with ASCO’s help, the Certification Commission on Health Information Technology (CCHIT) plans to begin certifying oncology-specific EHRs that year. Products The CORE project will result in a white paper and technical specifications that EHR vendors and CCHIT can use to develop and certify oncology-specific EHRs. The project has three components: Describe the functions oncologists want an EHR to perform; Provide the structured data elements to be used in oncology EHRs; and Provide a common set of interoperability standards that will allow oncology-specific data to be shared from one EHR to another. Process and Timeline Dozens of ASCO volunteers, NCI staff, and participants from the NCI Community Cancer Centers Program (NCCCP) met regularly in three work groups to come to consensus on the detailed functionality, data elements, and interoperability standards for an oncology-specific EHR. The groups began meeting in the fall of 2008 and finished their work in summer 2009. Hundreds of volunteer hours have made the effort possible. The discussion on functional requirements builds on previous work by ASCO’s EHR Workgroup and the oncology community to define an oncology-specific EHR. The data elements and interoperability portion of the project builds on previous work by NCI. Once the workgroups have compiled their findings, they will be circulated among clinical, technical, and patient advocacy groups for review and comment. A white paper and technical specifications will be released at the ASCO EHR Symposium, which will be held in San Francisco in October 2009.