TU-C-213AB-01: ACR/ASTRO Accreditation, Program an Overview of Technical Components
American College of Radiology (ACR) started the radiation oncology accreditation program in 1986 as a logical extension of the patterns of care study (PCS) and collected data from institutions that participated on the patterns of patient care among institutions. It published technical standard for various components of radiation oncology practices and evaluated the performance of centers based on practice guidelines. American Society of Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) joined ACR and formed an alliance to provide radiation oncology practice accreditation (ROPA) in 2008. ROPA provides an independent evaluation of radiation oncology center performance for a nominal fee and provides guidelines. Some states have now mandated that ROPA should be prerequisite for reimbursement as it provides a measure of quality of patient care. Accreditation process has 2 components, technical and clinical. In this talk technical components will be discussed followed by clinical component by a clinician. The technical component covers every aspect of medical physics and dosimetry for a patient care in radiation oncology. Detailed information of both components will be provided in 2 segments by a physicists and a physician. Learning Objectives: 1. History of ACR 2. Why ROPA? 3. Components of technical parameters 4. Requirements 5. Surveyors role 6. Qualifications and requirements 7. Data collection 8. Process 9. Accreditation results 10. Benefit of accreditation to institution and surveyor 11. Beyond accreditation