Main Session
Sep 28
PQA 03 - Digital Health Innovation and Informatics, Patient Safety & Quality, and Radiation and Cancer Biology

2632 - Patterns of Accreditation among NCI-Designated Cancer Centers

10:45am - 12:00pm ET
Poster Hall - Exhibit Hall A
Screen: 32
POSTER

Presenter(s)

Korinna Toth, BS Headshot
Korinna Toth, BS - Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine, Spartanburg, SC

K. Toth1, M. Hanson1, A. Skedel1, S. DeSimone1, and A. E. Curtis2; 1Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine, Spartanburg, SC, 2Gibbs Cancer Center & Research Institute, Spartanburg, SC

Purpose/Objective(s): Cancer centers across the United States pursue a range of accreditations to demonstrate their centers excellence in clinical care, research, and quality of care. The National Cancer Institute (NCI) specifically, has recognized 57 Comprehensive Cancer Centers and 9 Clinical Cancer Centers for their “cutting-edge cancer treatments” and excellence in leadership, resources and research in cancer prevention, diagnosis, and treatment. Aside from the prestigious NCI designation, these cancer centers may go on to pursue other more specialized accreditations unique to their expertise. This study aimed to identify which of the 68 NCI-designated Cancer Centers obtained additional accreditations in order to determine common accreditation combinations and uncover related trends.

Materials/Methods: A comprehensive list of all NCI accredited cancer centers in the United States was compiled and relevant accreditations were identified based on the frequency discovered during a scoping review. Official accreditation websites were reviewed to verify whether the NCI accredited cancer centers held each pre-determined accreditations. For the data presentation, “yes” was marked if the cancer center was listed on the website and “no” was marked if the cancer center was not. Lastly, the compiled data was analyzed to assess the prevalence of each accreditation among NCI designated cancer centers.

Results: Over 90% of NCI designated cancer centers held additional accreditations from the Commission on Cancer (CoC), American College of Radiology (ACR), and Foundation for the Accreditation of Cellular Therapy (FACT): 96%, 93%, 93% respectively. Not far behind, 90% of centers held the American Nurses Credentialing Center Magnet Designation (ANCC Magnet). When comparing the National Accreditation Program for Breast Cancers (NAPBC) with the National Accreditation Program for Rectal Cancer (NAPRC), 59% of cancer centers held NAPBC accreditation, while only 28% were accredited by NAPRC. A total of 66% of centers had at least one subspecialty designation of NAPBC or NAPRC. The Accreditation Program for Excellence in the context of radiation oncology (APEX) (32%), Quality Oncology Practice Initiative (QOPI) (44%), and NAPRC were the least utilized accreditations out of those assessed. Interestingly, only 3 of the 22 APEX accredited centers did not obtain an ACR accreditation.

Conclusion: Analysis of accreditation patterns among NCI-designated Cancer Centers revealed that the vast majority pursue additional accreditations beyond their NCI designation. The most prevalent were CoC, ACR, and FACT, each held by over 90% of centers, followed closely by ANCC Magnet designation. In contrast, programs such as NAPRC, APEX, and QOPI were less commonly obtained. These findings indicate that NCI-designated centers consistently pursue multiple accreditations to demonstrate comprehensive excellence across clinical and research domains.