MD Anderson Cancer Center at Cooper successfully attained accreditation at its Camden, Voorhees, and Mount Laurel locations from the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) APEx – Accreditation Program for Excellence®. APEx provides external validation that a radiation oncology facility is delivering high-quality patient care.
“Receiving APEx accreditation from the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO), the largest radiation oncology society in the world, is an outstanding achievement by our Radiation Oncology team,” said Anthony Dragun, MD, Chairman and Chief of the Department of Radiation Oncology at MD Anderson at Cooper. “Our team was invested in evaluating our processes to meet ASTRO’s high standards for safety and quality. By achieving this accreditation, we demonstrate our unwavering commitment to deliver consistently safe patient-centered cancer care.”
“Seeking and achieving this voluntary APEx accreditation affirms our commitment to excellence in patient care and safety,” said Generosa Grana, MD, FACP, Director of MD Anderson at Cooper. “This accreditation is a direct reflection of our entire team’s dedication and steadfast focus to provide the highest level of radiation oncology services at all of our locations.”
APEx, the fastest-growing radiation oncology practice accreditation program in the United States, is a voluntary, objective, and rigorous multi-step process during which a radiation oncology practice is evaluated using consensus-based standards. The practice must demonstrate its safety and quality processes and show that it adheres to patient-centered care by promoting effective communication, coordinated treatments and strong patient engagement.
“ASTRO commends MD Anderson at Cooper for achieving APEx accreditation,” said Jeff M. Michalski, MD, MBA, FASTRO, Chair of the ASTRO Board of Directors. “By undergoing this comprehensive review, the facility demonstrated their strong commitment to delivering safe, high-quality radiation oncology services to their patients.”
APEx is the only radiation oncology accreditation program that includes a self-assessment, which allows practices to internally assess compliance with quality improvement standards. The practice then has a facility review by an external surveyor team that includes a radiation oncologist and a medical physicist. The program reflects the recommendations endorsed in the ASTRO publication Safety is No Accident: A Framework for Quality Radiation Oncology and Care. To date, more than 300 U.S. facilities have earned APEx accreditation.
