Quality & Standards
April 2012 marks the beginning of the Partnership’s second five-year mandate and the next phase of implementing Canada’s national cancer strategy. The priorities and initiatives for the next five years are outlined in our 2012-2017 strategic plan, Sustaining Action Toward a Shared Vision. Our website will soon be updated to reflect the activities supporting the strategic plan. The information below reflects the priorities and accomplishments of our work between 2007 and 2012.
Quantifying collective progress to improve quality
Optimizing the cancer control system is at the centre of the Partnership’s work. To ensure consistent delivery of high-quality cancer care, the performance of the system needs to be measured and reported on. Indicators — widely accepted, high-level measures of the quality of treatment or service delivery — help to do this by identifying gaps in the cancer control system.
In Canada, partnerships across multiple areas of practice are contributing to quality improvements in cancer control. These partnerships work to identify gaps in indicator reporting, measure and report on system performance, and advance the implementation of evidence-based quality initiatives. By developing processes to measure the system and addressing quality issues where they arise, these initiatives contribute to higher standards of cancer care across the country.
Initiatives
In collaboration with a wide range of partners, the Partnership is building on the strengths and capabilities that exist within the cancer control community. The Partnership is leading a number of strategic initiatives to create common standards for all cancer patients and to improve the quality of care and services nationwide. These initiatives include:
- System Performance Initiative
- International Cancer Benchmarking Partnership (ICBP)
- Standards for the Delivery of Ambulatory Chemotherapy
- Canadian Partnership for Quality Radiotherapy (CPQR)
- Diagnostic Immunohistochemistry (IHC)
- Endoscopy Quality
