Implementation of the Quality Training Program in Spain.

Abstract

e18296 Background: The ECO Foundation is a collaboration of experts representing the major Spanish hospitals in the pursuit of excellence in cancer treatment. Since 2015, ECO has been collaborating with ASCO (American Society of Clinical Oncology) in quality initiatives in cancer care, like the QOPI (Quality Oncology Practice Initiative) program and the QOPI Certification Program (QCP). The Quality Training Program (QTP) is a 6-month program with 3 in-person learning sessions that prepares oncology teams to design implement and lead successful quality improvement activities in their practices. In 2018, ECO reached a new agreement with ASCO to implement this program in Spain. Methods: The QTP was developed in Spain by the ECO Foundation in collaboration with ASCO, following the same methodology and contents of ASCO’s program. The first session was carried out on October 2018, with 12 Spanish teams participating with diverse quality improvement projects. The program counted with ASCO and ECO faculty, constituted by experts in the quality and oncology field. Results: The QTP Spanish teams counted with 2-3 representatives from their hospitals. Each team develop an improvement project, following the methodology of the course, including a problem statement, process map, cause and effect diagram, diagnostic data, aim statement, measures, baseline data, priority/pay-off matrix of possible changes/interventions, change data, next steps/plan for sustainability, among others. The projects were mainly focused on the waiting time reduction in the Emergency Area, the waiting time reduction for cancer patients from the visit to the oncologist until treatment administration, burnout reduction on oncology professionals, improvement of the identification and management of complications for cancer patients receiving immunotherapy, improvement of the uniformity in the medical records registry, among others. QTP participants will present the results of their projects on the third and last session of the program, on April 2019. Conclusions: The quality improvement approach followed in the QTP allows Spanish teams and the ECO Foundation to enhance the goal of a quality-oriented health care system. ECO will continue pursuing excellence and quality with further initiatives like the QOPI program, the QCP and the QTP.