2007 Cancer Annual_prod5 - St. Joseph Medical Center

The Cancer Institute
Cancer Liason Physician Annual Report (continued)
questions that we have argued about without clear data other
than a few series involving a handful of patients before the
database was created. I believe that this orchard is definitely
ripe for the picking and that the data should be accessed by
all who are interested.
On an institutional level, our data is very useful in that we
can measure our performance against others and we can
measure our compliance with standards set by the CoC. Four
standards are being scrutinized (three for breast cancer and
one for colon) through eQuIPs (Electronic Quality Improvement
Packets). An example is a standard that calls for administering
radiation therapy to patients under 70 years of age after breastconserving
therapy for breast cancer. The challenge is that,
in addition to offering the treatment, the documentation has to
be available to our tumor registrars and that information has to
be entered into the NCDB. I encourage everyone to cooperate
with our registry staff by providing complete information. There
is a strong push in Washington to tie physician and hospital
reimbursement into meeting these standards (P4P).
A year ago, I was asked to perform the CLP role and I accepted
it because, with limited knowledge of its details, I thought it
was a “good” thing to do. As the year passed and I became
more familiar with the role’s details, I began to appreciate
what a worthwhile endeavor this is, and I have found it a very
fulfilling experience. I want to acknowledge the dedication of
the many physicians who, in addition to providing high quality
care, supply the registry with stage and survival data on their
patients; the tumor registry staff who work collecting and
entering the data and the hospital leadership that continues
their strong commitment to our Cancer Institute.
What are the CLP and CoC objectives for next year?
The areas of interest for CLPs as determined at the last
meeting of the CoC are: quality improvement, advocacy, ACS
partnership, clinical trials and comprehensive cancer control.
The CoC defined an objective for next year around each focus
area, and here are the objectives:
• Facilitate the utilization of eQuIP to promote quality care
for breast and colorectal cancer
• Work with the American Cancer Society Cancer Action
Network (ACS-CAN) in the area of legislative and
regulatory advocacy
• Bring ACS staff to the Cancer Committee table and facilitate
ACS interaction with the cancer program staff
• Increase enrollment of patients into clinical trials by
championing implementation and recruitment
• Present the state cancer plan to the Cancer Committee
and define ways to become involved
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