The Commission on Cancer has granted the Rush University Cancer Center accreditation through 2020 following an extensive onsite survey that demonstrated how Rush has exceeded 34 quality of care standards and sustained excellence across four domains of care: access and service, satisfaction and well-being, quality of care and cancer outcomes. Rush has received this triennial award every time since the award was first created in 2004.
The Commission on Cancer, a quality program of the American College of Surgeons, only accredits institutions that can demonstrate a multidisciplinary approach to treating cancer as a complex group of diseases. This requires consultation among surgeons, medical and radiation oncologists, diagnostic radiologists, pathologists and other cancer specialists. This multidisciplinary partnership results in improved patient care.
“As cancer care becomes more complex, the Commission on Cancer accreditation sends a clear message: Rush University Cancer Center’s multifaceted approach delivers the highest quality patient care,” said Robert DeCresce, MD, interim director, Rush University Cancer Center. “We have integrated basic sciences, clinical trials, advanced treatments and innovative surgical techniques to provide the impressive level of care patients expect from our nationally ranked academic medical center.”
Commission on Cancer accreditation assures patients that a facility meets several high national standards, such as providing patients access to information on clinical trials and new treatments, genetic counseling and patient centered services including psychosocial support, a patient navigation process and a survivorship care plan that documents the care each patient receives.
And as an accredited facility, Rush maintains a cancer registry and contributes data to the National Cancer Database, a joint program of the Commission on Cancer and the American Cancer Society. This nationwide oncology outcomes database is the largest clinical disease registry in the world. Data on all types of cancer are tracked and analyzed through the National Cancer Database and used to explore trends in cancer care. Rush cancer specialists then have access to information derived from this type of data analysis, which is used to create national, regional and state benchmark reports.
The American Cancer Society estimates that more than 70 percent of the 1.7 million patients cancer likely diagnosed with cancer in 2018 will be diagnosed and or treated at a Commission on Cancer-accredited facility. It provides the public with information on the resources, services and cancer treatment experience for each accredited cancer program through the Commission on Cancer Hospital Locator.
