The cancer program at Carilion Clinic is directed by a multidisciplinary committee of physicians and non-physicians who volunteer to improve the care of cancer patients. Dominion Pathology Associates is a key figure in the care of cancer patients at Carilion Clinic and we are participating members of the Cancer Committee at Carilion Clinic. Currently, the pathology representative on the committee is Dr. Robert Budin. Dr. Budin currently reviews all cases with a diagnosis of cancer for the committee, ensuring accuracy and compliance with reporting guidelines. This includes that proper surgical margin assessment has been made and an adequate number of lymph nodes were recovered and reported on, among other items.
The American College of Surgeons Commission on Cancer has standards that must be met to achieve accreditation by the Commission. The Carilion Clinic cancer program meets these standards and is fully accredited. There are 5 key areas that are hallmarks of a quality cancer program according to the CoC.
- Clinical services that provide state of the art pre-treatment, staging, treatment and follow-up care for primary treatment, ongoing care and end of life care.
- A cancer committee that leads the program, monitors patient outcomes and improves care.
- Cancer conferences (Tumor Boards), where a panel of physicians meet and discuss the care and treatment of patients dealing with cancer.
- A Quality Improvement plan in place, evaluating patient care and improving patient outcomes.
- A hospital cancer registry and database to maintain quality of care.
The Cancer Committee at Carilion Clinic is responsible for:
- Establishing and evaluating annual goals related to cancer care.
- Ensuring frequent participation in hospital Cancer Conferences (Tumor Boards), currently over 20 per month.
- Providing oncology education for the medical staff and allied health professional staff of the Carilion Clinic.
- Monitoring Quality of Care metrics, quality of Bone Marrow specimens and Bone Marrow reporting turn around time.
- Ensuring that all reports conform to current reporting standards of JCAHO and CAP, including the use of synoptic reports when necessary and available. Synoptic reports ensure completeness of reporting and ease of access to information.
- Providing assistance with outreach programs for cancer screening and educational campaigns, including smoking cessation and weight loss.
The data gathered by and reviewed by the committee is compiled by the Tumor Registry staff and subsequently reported to the CoC. There is an upcoming inspection of the Carilion Clinic by the CoC in September of 2019.