Association of European Cancer Institutes

Anadolu Medical Centre, which meets the standards of the European Association of Cancer Institutes, has become the first and only clinical cancer center to receive OECI accreditation both in Turkey and in the surrounding region.

On April 9, 2018, Anadolu Medical Centre achieved a new milestone with the decision of the OECI General Assembly. Having fulfilled 97% of the requirements listed by the European Cancer Association for cancer centers, Anadolu Medical Centre became the first and only cancer center in Turkey and even in this geography to receive OECI accreditation. We now turn to Prof. Dr. Hüseyin Baloğlu, OECI Coordinator at Anadolu Medical Centre, to learn all the details of this achievement.

Why is OECI accreditation important?

OECI is an independent non-governmental organization operating within the European Union that sets standards for cancer centers through scientific data and actively monitors and accredits them in practice. It standardizes and registers centers where all comprehensive cancer-related services are provided.

Established in 1979, OECI accredits eligible organizations by evaluating them based on its standards after an improvement process. It inspects applicant centers on site and conducts a detailed study by observing the standards required in the diagnosis, treatment, and follow-up processes of cancer. We are very pleased that our official application, made in April 2016, resulted in accreditation.

Since the date we applied for OECI accreditation, the cooperation and contributions of all our units have yielded results. With our OECI certificate, we have become the first and only clinical cancer center in Turkey with this accreditation.

Imagine an accreditation process with detailed monitoring and evidence of whether current scientific standards are met in all processes of cancer disease, from patient admission to diagnostic processes, from planning the initial treatment to follow-up, and comparing results with other centers. A process that analyzes implementations and results across 800 details... The number of centers in Europe meeting these standards is also very small. Only 82 centers accepting cancer patients from 27 European countries and nearby regions are members of OECI. Of these, only 31 have completed their accreditation process as Clinical Cancer Centers that have successfully passed the OECI audit. Anadolu Medical Centre is now one of them.

What is the validity of our OECI accreditation?

Once the process is complete, it is valid for 5 years, until 2023. During this period, status reports for the centers are shared at an annual convention. In other words, there is a control mechanism during the process. They inspect whether the quality is maintained, and after 5 years, they start from the beginning and re-inspect. Therefore, the audit process is repeated every 5 years to monitor and determine whether the quality is maintained at the same standards, and accreditation is renewed for centers that meet and maintain the required standards.

How was the decision made to apply for international accreditation? What happened in this process?

An administrative decision was taken in March 2016, based on the principle that all services in the cancer field at our hospital should be provided at international standards. A small group of three people was established to work for this purpose. This group completed their research in a short time. The oldest organization determining accreditation or international service quality levels was in the USA. We applied by submitting the required documents, but our application was not considered because the organization had never granted accreditation outside the USA. Our biggest obstacle was that this group was established only for service within the USA. After reaching a conclusion by this route, we started searching for alternative standards. Europe was a good alternative, and we found OECI, which operates this service in Europe. Since 2006, they have been effectively pursuing the standardization of cancer centers and have built up considerable experience and confidence in this process, evident from the quality of the European cancer centers they have accredited. Established within the European Union in 1979, OECI aims to determine and implement standards to ensure better service provision in cancer-related research and development activities, cancer prevention, diagnosis, and treatment. It is an independent and reputable organization that has carried out regular studies, group planning, and multidisciplinary meetings, making significant progress to date.

In 2016, we decided to apply. They sent a preliminary evaluation form, a questionnaire with more than 800 questions, including information about the organization, the work carried out, the number of employees, and their qualifications. After submitting the relevant documents, we formally applied in April 2016. Two pre-auditors from OECI came to pre-assess the application. After this pre-assessment, we were found qualified to be a candidate, and the first part of the process was completed. Then, on November 10-11, 2016, a team of four examined all relevant departments on-site for two days. They determined the people, content, and time they would talk to. Their checklists were completed, and they presented us with a SWOT analysis. According to this analysis, our leading departments were the Breast Health Centre, Pathology, and Hematology departments. They informed us that the service in these three departments is of a high level and meets European standards. We also identified other areas for improvement in these presentations. Two months later, we received a formal report indicating that we still had existing deficiencies for OECI accreditation. An action plan was requested to resolve these deficiencies. The deficiencies were reviewed with our own working group. New organizations and working groups were established. I ensured coordination, but the work was carried out with contributions from many of our professors, healthcare professionals, and other colleagues, mainly from our oncology-related departments. As a result of these efforts, we determined a roadmap. We sent our plan to OECI, and our deficiency elimination algorithm in compliance with the standards was accepted. This process continued until all our deficiencies were resolved. We sent a final report stating that we had completed all objectives. In this declaration, we affirmed that we had completed all these studies with our hospital's extended general assembly and the OECI working group and provided all the information requested by OECI. I also presented our hospital and our progress in the accreditation process at the OECI General Assembly last year. Eventually, OECI made a decision on our application at the last OECI accreditation board meeting held on April 9, 2018. From this date, Anadolu Medical Centre has been certified as the first and only OECI-accredited cancer center in Turkey that fully meets the standards of the European Cancer Society. The traditional certificate ceremony will be held on June 22, the last day of the OECI traditional symposium in Poznan, Poland.

Would you mention its importance for Turkey as well?

This process starts at the first contact between patients and our hospital. It standardizes application methods. How soon can an appointment be made after applying? How long will it take to be examined, and how long will the wait be? How long will it take to be diagnosed? When does treatment start after diagnosis? How is follow-up done after treatment? Are the survival times comparable with the results of other cancer centers considering the stage of the disease? Are the employees qualified both quantitatively and qualitatively? Are the facilities adequate for all social and psychological situations encountered during illness? These are important questions. For instance, in our treatment planning, each patient is discussed with a multidisciplinary approach (surgery, oncology, pathology, radiology, nuclear medicine, psychiatry) in our disease-specific tumor boards. Primary treatments are planned and approved by the board. This plan is added to the patient file. All members of the board, other than the responsible physician, are informed about the patient and approve the decisions or offer a new one. Monitoring compliance with international protocols is also an OECI standard. What is the response to the question of whether treatment results are continuing? If the response is not as expected or an unexpected situation has occurred, the patient will be brought back to the tumor board for discussion and decision-making. Treatment, follow-up, surgery decisions, chemotherapy, radiotherapy, these are all multidisciplinary decisions. OECI reviewed and approved all of these in our hospital according to the standards, just like the other 30 European centers they accredited, during a 16-month audit period. This is the most significant difference that sets our organization apart from other registered centers. Anadolu Medical Centre is certified to provide cancer treatment according to the standards set by the European Cancer Society. Thus, we are not the only ones claiming to be the first and only center in Turkey providing world-class cancer treatment. An independent international authority, OECI, also confirms this statement.

Many of our physicians and colleagues contributed to obtaining OECI accreditation. Our Clinical Quality and Patient Safety Department, IT department, and technical support units showed exemplary solidarity with great devotion and faith. This is the pride of the AMC family. I would like to thank everyone who contributed.