Commission on Cancer reaccredits Bassett Cancer Institute

COOPERSTOWN, N.Y. — The Commission on Cancer (CoC) of the American College of Surgeons has granted the Bassett Cancer Institute in Cooperstown a three-year accreditation.

The accreditation by the Chicago, Illinois–based commission maintains Bassett’s position as “one of the longest standing accredited programs in the country,” per a Thursday news release. Bassett’s cancer program has been continuously accredited since 1947.

The accreditation process occurs every three years and involves an on-site, “rigorous” evaluation and performance review process to assure cancer programs meet the CoC’s quality of care standards for the “full spectrum” of cancer care. That includes prevention, early diagnosis, cancer staging, optimal treatment, rehabilitation, life-long follow up for recurrent disease, and end-of-life care.

Bassett cites the American Cancer Society, which estimates that the U.S. will have more than 1.7 million new cancer cases in 2020.

Like all CoC-accredited facilities, the Bassett Cancer Institute says it maintains a cancer registry and contributes data to the National Cancer Data Base (NCDB), a joint program of the CoC and American Cancer Society.

The nationwide oncology-outcomes database is the “largest” clinical disease registry in the world. Data on all types of cancer are tracked and analyzed through the NCDB and used to explore trends in cancer care.

CoC-accredited cancer centers, in turn, have access to information derived from this type of data analysis, which is used to create national, regional, and state benchmark reports. These reports help CoC facilities with their quality improvement efforts, Bassett noted.

Contact Reinhardt at ereinhardt@cnybj.com