Vulnerable patients have a decreased mortality risk when treated at commission on cancer-accredited hospitals

Medical Xpress / American College of Surgeons / Journal of the American College of Surgeons ^ | Sept. 19, 2024 | Kelley Chan et al

[ConservativeMind]

Vulnerable patients facing social, environmental, and economic disadvantages often experience worse cancer outcomes than other groups. Some of these disparities may be reduced by increasing access to hospitals accredited by the American College of Surgeons (ACS) Commission on Cancer (CoC), according to a study.

The study found highly vulnerable patients treated at CoC-accredited hospitals, as measured by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Social Vulnerability Index (SVI), were more likely to receive care that adhered to national treatment guidelines and were 9% less likely to die than patients treated at non-CoC-accredited hospitals during the study period. These results may be due to CoC-accreditation requirements for treatment guideline adherence, community engagement, and addressing barriers to care, the study authors said.

Key study findings:

Patients with high social vulnerability treated at CoC-accredited hospitals had a 9% reduction in mortality rate compared to those treated at non-CoC-accredited hospitals during the study period.

Patients treated at CoC-accredited hospitals had a 79% higher likelihood of receiving guideline-concordant care (GCC) compared to those treated at non-CoC-accredited hospitals.

Patients in the highest SVI quartile had 21% decreased potential of receiving GCC overall.

This retrospective observational study identified 124,950 patients with stage I-III colon cancer (102,399 patients) or stage II-III rectal cancer (22,551 patients) between 2018 and 2020 from the National Program of Cancer Registries Database.

The study found that patients treated at CoC-accredited hospitals had 79% higher likelihood of receiving GCC than those treated at non-CoC-accredited hospitals. Patients in the highest SVI quartile had a 21% decreased chance of receiving GCC but were more likely to receive GCC at a CoC-accredited hospital than at a non-CoC-accredited hospital.

An example of an ACS Cancer Program is Breaking Barriers, which has assisted programs in addressing barriers for patients missing three or more radiation therapy appointments, she said.

[ConservativeMind]

It would tend to make sense to go to hospitals and clinics that keep processes in place to minimize problems for patients.

Ratings can matter, especially for infection concerns.

[ConservativeMind]

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