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Is there evidence for better health care for cancer patients in certified centers? A systematic review

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Abstract

Aim

Certification is a means to enhance quality of care in oncology. This systematic review examines whether treatment in a certified center leads to an improvement of patient-relevant outcomes.

Methods

Publications addressing certification in oncology between 1 January 2004 and 26 March 2015 were included in a systematic literature review. Main outcome parameters were patients' overall survival and/or improvement in quality of life.

Results

One systematic review, 5 narrative reviews and 34 primary studies were included. No randomized controlled studies were found. All studies showed a high risk of bias. Three publications analyzed the effect of certification on survival of cancer patients. Quality of life was evaluated in one study. Studies addressing patient satisfaction showed consistent high ratings in both certified and non-certified facilities.

Conclusion

In order to improve certification processes, focusing on patient-relevant endpoints such as quality of life, survival time and patient satisfaction would allow concentrating on patient-centered needs and simplify the process of certification. Those working in the certification process should strive for an independent evaluation of their programs including patient-relevant outcome parameters.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Working Group Integrative Oncology, Dr. Senckenberg Chronomedical Institute, J.W. Goethe University, Theodor-Stern-Kai 7, 60590, Frankfurt, Germany

    Christian Keinki, Dana Ruetters, Patrick Liebl & Sarah Schroth

  2. Department for Radio-Oncology, Wiesbaden, Germany

    Franz-Josef Prott

  3. Department for Radio-Oncology, Franziskus Hospital, Bielefeld, Germany

    Oliver Micke

  4. Practice for Hemato-Oncology, Heidelberg, Germany

    Stefan Fuxius

Authors
  1. Christian Keinki
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  2. Dana Ruetters
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  3. Patrick Liebl
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  4. Sarah Schroth
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  5. Franz-Josef Prott
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  6. Oliver Micke
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  7. Stefan Fuxius
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Correspondence to Christian Keinki.

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This work had no specific funding.

Conflict of interest

Christian Keinki, Dana Ruetters, Patrick Liebl and Sarah Schroth are employees of the German Cancer Society. The other authors declare no conflict of interest.

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This article does not contain any studies with human participants performed by any of the authors.

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Keinki, C., Ruetters, D., Liebl, P. et al. Is there evidence for better health care for cancer patients in certified centers? A systematic review. J Public Health 24, 351–361 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10389-016-0728-5

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