Evolution and elements of the quality oncology practice initiative measure set

Abstract

Background: Over the past 5 years, the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) has supported the development of a Web-based quality-reporting tool in response to a recognized need to provide medical oncologists the opportunity to demonstrate the quality of care that they are providing to patients. Methods: The development of quality measures, their basis in the literature, and the descriptions and organizational structure of the measures are discussed. Results: Specific results are the property of practices and are not shared outside of the practices except in aggregate. The system allows collection of information concerning a wide range of quality measures in a short period of time. In the last data collection period in the fall of 2008, information was submitted concerning 81 measures of quality divided into one required and six optional modules from over 250 practices concerning 15,000 patients. Conclusions: The timely collection of information on a wide range of quality measures regarding cancer patients can be efficiently collected using a Web-based data collection tool allowing for practice self-examination and comparison with other practices.