National Cancer Institute partnerships in quality-of-care research.

BACKGROUND Improving the quality of cancer care delivery is a research priority for the National Cancer Institute (NCI). The NCI addresses this priority in part through a variety of research partnerships with public and private organizations designed to measure, monitor, and improve the quality of cancer care delivery. METHODS NCI-sponsored quality-of-care initiatives are reviewed in three areas: improving process and outcome measures, building strong data infrastructures to monitor the quality of cancer care, and developing practice-based quality-of-care research partnerships for privately sponsored and government-sponsored delivery programs. RESULTS Research partnerships strengthen the overall portfolio of NCI-sponsored research into understanding and improving cancer care delivery. These partnerships have made significant contributions in standardizing metrics of clinical effectiveness and health-related quality of life, in developing monitoring systems to track disparities in cancer care and identify opportunities for improvement, and in understanding ways to intervene in cancer care delivery to improve adherence to evidence-based practice. These partnerships also contribute to the productivity of investigator-initiated quality-of-care studies and often provide leverage for rapid adoption of this science by organizations that participate in these projects. CONCLUSIONS Research partnerships in measurement, data infrastructure, and service delivery are an essential part of the NCI's research program to advance the science of quality of cancer care. Collectively, these projects inform participating organizations on gaps in quality and opportunities for improving cancer care delivery. They also foster the development of tools for changing care processes that can lead to better outcomes for cancer patients and survivors.