Defining the Landscape of Radiation Oncology Accreditation in the United States
Abstract
Accreditation is a one method used within healthcare to establish compliance with a set of predetermined criteria and demonstrate a measure of quality to patients, providers and payers. Radiation oncology accreditation is currently available from three independent organizations; however the utilization of these accreditation programs is an underreported topic in the literature. A description of the landscape of radiation oncology facilities in the US was last conducted in 2005. This work describes the number of radiation oncology facilities by geographic location, identifies the number of radiation oncology facilities that participate in radiation oncology accreditation and describes additional characteristics of facilities including participation in the Commission on Cancer Accreditation program, accreditation by the Joint Commission and participation in any of the National Cancer Institute’s National Network Clinical Trials organization. This work explores the relationship between participation in radiation oncology accreditation and additional programs described. To examine the relationship between radiation oncology accreditation and the impact on quality of care, a correlation between the proportions of radiation oncology facilities at the county level versus the age-adjusted cancer specific mortality rate was conducted yielding no relationship between these variables. Finally, exploratory, qualitative research was conducted through a small sample of interviews to describe the motivations and barriers for participating in radiation oncology accreditation.
Subject Area
Health sciences|Public health
Recommended Citation
Doyle, Laura A, "Defining the Landscape of Radiation Oncology Accreditation in the United States" (2018). ProQuest ETD Collection - Thomas Jefferson University. AAI10844274.
https://jdc.jefferson.edu/dissertations/AAI10844274
