The National Accreditation Program for Rectal Cancer (NAPRC), recently launched by the American College of Surgeons (ACS), has awarded its first accreditation to the John Muir Health Rectal Cancer Program, Walnut Creek and Concord, CA. To earn the voluntary accreditation, the John Muir Health Rectal Cancer Program met 19 standards, including the establishment of a rectal cancer multidisciplinary team (RC-MDT) with clinical representatives from surgery, pathology, radiology, radiation oncology, and medical oncology.
Thirteen of those standards address clinical services that the program was required to provide, including carcinoembryonic antigen testing and magnetic resonance and computed tomography imaging for cancer staging, and ensuring a process whereby the patient starts treatment within a defined time frame. One of the most important clinical standards requires all rectal cancer patients to be present at both pre- and post-treatment RC-MDT meetings.
“When a cancer center achieves this type of specialized accreditation, it means that their rectal cancer patients will receive streamlined, modern evaluation and treatment for the disease. Compliance with our standards will assure optimal care for these patients,” said David P. Winchester, MD, FACS, Medical Director of ACS Cancer Programs.
The NAPRC was developed through a collaboration between the Optimizing the Surgical Treatment of Rectal Cancer Consortium and the ACS Commission on Cancer. It is based on successful international models that emphasize program structure, patient care processes, performance improvement, and performance measures. Its goal is to ensure that rectal cancer patients receive appropriate care using a multidisciplinary approach.
Read more in the ACS press release at www.facs.org/media/press-releases/2018/naprc052218. For more information about the program and instructions on how to apply for accreditation, visit the NAPRC website at www.facs.org/quality-programs/cancer/naprc, or contact NAPRC@facs.org.