Implementing Quality Standards and Personalized Approaches into Oncology

Robert D. Orzechowski, MBA, chief operating officer, Lancaster Cancer Center, executive council member, NCODA, discusses the implementation of quality standards and the importance of personalized approaches in the oncology space.

It is important for every clinic to develop its own set of quality standards, and for the staff to ensure that they are applied to each individual patient and treatment. Patients might have similar diseases and malignancies, but every patient case differs to some extent, Orzechowski says. These patients cannot be grouped simply by gender because their genetic makeup is different. The most advanced treatment options are at a molecular level, Orzechowski adds, so there cannot be just one set of standards.

Medicine is the nexus of human service, science, and technology, and an organization like NCODA is an important aspect of oncology because it is a repository that embodies all of these aspects. Quality standards should not just focus on the general process of treatment; rather, they should be tailored to each patient encounter.