Doylestown Hospital has earned a three-year accreditation from the National Accreditation Program for Rectal Cancer (NAPRC), a quality program of the American College of Surgeons. Doylestown Hospital is among just 88 hospitals nationwide and only four in Pennsylvania to receive this prestigious distinction; and the only hospital in Bucks County.
To achieve voluntary NAPRC accreditation, a rectal center must demonstrate compliance with the NAPRC standards addressing program management, clinical services, and quality improvement for patients. Centers are required to establish a multidisciplinary rectal cancer team that includes clinical representatives from surgery, pathology, radiology, radiation oncology, and medical oncology.
Additionally, the program meets standards addressing the clinical services that the rectal cancer program provides, including Carcinoembryonic Antigen (CEA testing), Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI), and Computerized Tomography (CT) imaging for cancer staging which allow patients to start treatment within a defined timeframe. Rectal cancer programs accredited by the NAPRC undergo a site visit every three years and are also accredited by the American College of Surgeons Commission on Cancer.
“This accreditation acknowledges the entire continuum of care for patients with rectal cancer beginning with the outpatient evaluation and management, through the surgical intervention and subsequent care,” Vice President and Chief Medical Officer Scott Levy, MD explained.
“It is a testimony to the collaboration of multiple individuals and teams, all to promote and ensure the highest quality care for our patients,” Dr. Levy added.
“For the past four years our dedicated team has met every two weeks to ensure the proper and expeditious workup of each individual patient, ultimately recommending a personalized treatment plan adhering to the most up-to-date national guidelines in rectal cancer,” explained Christopher J. Bruce, MD, colorectal surgeon and Medical Director of Doylestown Hospital’s Rectal Cancer Program.
“Doylestown Hospital has provided us with the necessary resources for the program, which has ultimately led to improved patient outcomes with permanent colostomy rates well below the national average,” Dr. Bruce added.
Doylestown Health’s team of rectal cancer specialists includes colorectal surgeons and experts in pathology, radiology, radiation oncology and medical oncology, as well as a Rectal Cancer Program Coordinator who serves as a nurse navigator, helping patients access vital support services, working hand in hand with patients throughout their diagnosis, treatment and recovery.
“I have been practicing surgery for over 25 years and am very proud that our efforts have been recognized with this esteemed accreditation from the American College of Surgeons,” said Dr. Bruce.
This accreditation represents a continuation of targeted efforts to ensure access to a wide spectrum of high-quality, personalized cancer care – from diagnosis to cure – close to home.
“The rigorous standards that were met for this accreditation insure best outcomes in terms of highest survival and lowest ostomy rates in colorectal cancer patients,” said Donna M. Angotti, MD. Dr. Angotti serves as Medical Director of the Breast Cancer Program at Doylestown Health Cancer Institute, which is accredited by the National Accreditation Program for Breast Centers. Doylestown Hospital’s cancer program is also accredited by the American College of Surgeons Commission on Cancer.
Accreditation by the NAPRC is granted only to those programs that are committed to providing the best possible care to patients with rectal cancer. The NAPRC provides the structure and resources to develop and operate a high-quality rectal center and accredited programs follow a model for organizing and managing a rectal center to ensure multidisciplinary, integrated, comprehensive rectal cancer services.
About Doylestown Health Colorectal
Doylestown Health Colorectal Specialists provide expert assessment, diagnosis, and treatment for a wide range of disorders of the colon, rectum, anus and small intestine. Our board-certified physicians offer compassionate, personalized care, continuing patient education and state-of-the-art technology, using advanced colon and rectal surgery and minimally invasive robotic surgery techniques.
About the National Accreditation Program for Rectal Cancer
The NAPRC was developed through a collaboration between the Commission on Cancer (CoC), a quality program of the American College of Surgeons, and the Optimizing the Surgical Treatment of Rectal Cancer (OSTRiCh) Consortium, as well as the American College of Radiology (ACR), the American Society of Colon and Rectal Surgeons (ASCRS), and the College of American Pathologists (CAP). The NAPRC is based on successful international models that emphasize program structure, patient care processes, performance improvement, and performance measures. Its goal is to ensure that rectal cancer patients receive appropriate care using a multidisciplinary approach. For more information visit https://www.facs.org/naprc.
About the American College of Surgeons Commission on Cancer
Established in 1922 by the ACS, the CoC is a consortium of professional organizations dedicated to improving patient outcomes and quality of life for cancer patients through standard-setting, prevention, research, education, and the monitoring of comprehensive quality care. For more information on the CoC, visit: https://www.facs.org/quality-programs/cancer/coc.
