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The ASCO-COA Oncology Medical Home standards offer a roadmap for comprehensive high-quality, patient-centered cancer care delivery.
The American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) and the Community Oncology Alliance (COA) have jointly released new Oncology Medical Home (OMH) standards with the goal of providing a comprehensive roadmap for oncology practices. The OMH standards were recently published in ASCO’s JCO Oncology Practice journal.1,2
In releasing the new standards, ASCO and COA are aiming to achieve a broad consensus among patients, clinicians, payers, purchasers, and employers on what patients with cancer should expect and receive from their cancer care teams. According to the 2 organizations, a goal of the OMH standards is to establish core elements needed to deliver equitable, high-quality cancer care.1
“Every single patient has the right to high-quality, evidence-based, and cost-effective cancer care. However, our challenge as clinicians and as a broader oncology community has been to define what that high-quality cancer care looks like,” said ASCO President Everett E. Vokes, MD, FASCO, in a press release. “These new, comprehensive standards will remove ambiguity and serve as a strong foundation for all stakeholders to work together to ensure that every single person receives the care they deserve, throughout the entire patient journey.”
According to ASCO and COA, the OMH standards include the following elements:1
According to ASCO and COA, implementation of the OMH standards will address issues that include appropriate use of oncology drugs, safe and efficient delivery of these medications, patient-centered care coordination, effective communication, informed decision making, and planning. By establishing a universal benchmark for high-quality cancer care delivery, the partnering organizations are striving to provide an opportunity for the oncology community to work towards a value-based model of care that will benefit all patients with cancer.1
“These new OMH standards provide oncology practices with a single set of cancer care delivery expectations that benefit patients, practices, and other stakeholders,” said COA President Kashyap Patel, MD, in a press release. “As practices transition into value-based care delivery, those that adopt this framework will be able to focus on a standardized process that measurably demonstrates high-quality, patient-centered, and efficient care.”
The ASCO-COA OMH standards were developed based on a systematic review of evidence that included peer-reviewed studies, clinical pathway studies, and a systematic review of survivorship care plans, along with consensus of a multidisciplinary expert panel, comprising clinicians, health system administrators, and patient advocates. The standards also were approved by COA’s Payment Reform Committee and the ASCO Board of Director prior to publication.1
According to ASCO and COA, the new standards are the foundation of a 2-year OMH certification pilot program led by ASCO. At the conclusion of the pilot program, the standards are expected to be assessed and modified as needed.2
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