Introduction

A national quality improvement ​program led by the​ American College of Surgeons (ACS) found that transportation barriers and illness are among the top reasons cancer⁤ patients miss critical ‌radiation therapy appointments – and that providing‌ hospitals⁤ and patients with structured support⁤ can reduce missed​ appointments by up to 40%.

The results of the initiative, involving data from⁣ more than 90,000 cancer patients,⁢ are published in the Journal of the American College of ​Surgeons (JACS).

The Problem: Why Patients Miss Appointments

Research shows that⁤ up to 20% of cancer patients in the United States miss two or more of their recommended radiation therapy appointments, increasing their risk of‍ cancer‌ recurrence and death. Despite the importance of radiation therapy‍ in cancer treatment, treatment often requires daily‌ visits for several weeks, which ‌can be time-consuming⁤ and difficult to achieve.

Breaking ‌Barriers: A National Quality Improvement Program

Launched​ by ACS Cancer Programs in January ​2023,‌ Breaking Barriers ⁢was a two-year national quality ‍improvement program that helped hospitals and cancer centers accredited by the ACS Commission (CoC) ⁣and the National Accreditation Program for Breast ​Centers (NAPBC) identify and reduce the causes ⁢of missed radiation therapy appointments.

“Thanks to advances in cancer care, we now have treatments that can‌ significantly improve survival rates. Patients only receive these benefits if they follow recommended care. Missed appointments have been identified by the ⁣ACS CoC and NAPBC as an area of ​​concern where we ⁢have⁤ the power to ‌reverse‍ the trend and better support hospitals and patients.”

– Laurie ​Kirstein,⁤ MD, FACS, lead author of the JACS ‌ study and ‌president of the ACS CoC

dr. Kirstein is a‌ breast surgical⁤ oncologist at​ Memorial Sloan kettering in New York and sees many ⁢cancer patients with radiation therapy in their ​treatment plans.

program Participation and Methodology

Over ⁤two years, 194 ACS CoC​ and NAPBC accredited hospitals and cancer centers participated in Breaking Barriers.During the first year,⁣ the centers identified the top ⁤patient-reported barriers ‌to radiation therapy ​for seven cancers: breast, ‌prostate, gynecologic, gastrointestinal,⁢ rectal, lung, and head and neck.

Centers then implemented solutions using​ an ACS toolkit and attended webinars and peer-to-peer sessions during the second year​ of the program.⁣ About half of the participants were integrated cancer networks or community cancer programs, and about 10% were safety-net hospitals, which serve large numbers of patients with government insurance.

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