A National Cancer Clinical Trials System for the 21st Century

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Publisher : National Academies Press
ISBN 13 : 0309151864
Total Pages : 316 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (91 download)

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Book Synopsis A National Cancer Clinical Trials System for the 21st Century by : Institute of Medicine

Download or read book A National Cancer Clinical Trials System for the 21st Century written by Institute of Medicine and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 2010-08-08 with total page 316 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The National Cancer Institute's (NCI) Clinical Trials Cooperative Group Program has played a key role in developing new and improved cancer therapies. However, the program is falling short of its potential, and the IOM recommends changes that aim to transform the Cooperative Group Program into a dynamic system that efficiently responds to emerging scientific knowledge; involves broad cooperation of stakeholders; and leverages evolving technologies to provide high-quality, practice-changing research.

A National Cancer Clinical Trials System for the 21st Century

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Publisher : National Academies Press
ISBN 13 : 0309157870
Total Pages : 317 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (91 download)

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Book Synopsis A National Cancer Clinical Trials System for the 21st Century by : Institute of Medicine

Download or read book A National Cancer Clinical Trials System for the 21st Century written by Institute of Medicine and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 2010-07-08 with total page 317 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The National Cancer Institute's (NCI) Clinical Trials Cooperative Group Program has played a key role in developing new and improved cancer therapies. However, the program is falling short of its potential, and the IOM recommends changes that aim to transform the Cooperative Group Program into a dynamic system that efficiently responds to emerging scientific knowledge; involves broad cooperation of stakeholders; and leverages evolving technologies to provide high-quality, practice-changing research.

Implementing a National Cancer Clinical Trials System for the 21st Century

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Publisher : National Academies Press
ISBN 13 : 0309287243
Total Pages : 111 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (92 download)

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Book Synopsis Implementing a National Cancer Clinical Trials System for the 21st Century by : Board on Health Care Services

Download or read book Implementing a National Cancer Clinical Trials System for the 21st Century written by Board on Health Care Services and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 2013-10-27 with total page 111 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The National Clinical Trials Network (NCTN) supported by the National Cancer Institute (NCI) has played an integral role in cancer research and in establishing the standard of care for cancer patients for more than 50 years. Formerly known as the NCI Clinical Trials Cooperative Group Program, the NCTN is comprised of more than 2,100 institutions and 14,000 investigators, who enroll more than 20,000 cancer patients in clinical trials each year across the United States and internationally. Recognizing the recent transformative advances in cancer research that necessitate modernization in how cancer clinical trials are run, as well as inefficiencies and other challenges impeding the national cancer clinical trials program, the NCI asked the IOM to develop a set of recommendations to improve the federally funded cancer clinical trials system. These recommendations were published in the 2010 report, A National Cancer Clinical Trials System for the 21st Century: Reinvigorating the NCI Cooperative Group Program. In early 2011, the NCPF and the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) held a workshop in which stakeholders discussed the changes they planned to implement in response to the IOM goals and recommendations. Two years later, on February 11-12, 2013, in Washington, DC, the NCPF and ASCO reconvened stakeholders to report on the changes they have made thus far to address the IOM recommendations. At this workshop, representatives from the NCI, the NCTN, comprehensive cancer centers, patient advocacy groups, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), industry, and other stakeholders highlighted the progress that has been made in achieving the goals for a reinvigorated national cancer clinical trials system. Implementing a National Cancer Clinical Trials System for the 21st Century is a summary of that workshop.

Implementing a National Cancer Clinical Trials System for the 21st Century

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Publisher :
ISBN 13 : 9780309382441
Total Pages : 122 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (824 download)

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Book Synopsis Implementing a National Cancer Clinical Trials System for the 21st Century by : National Cancer Policy Forum

Download or read book Implementing a National Cancer Clinical Trials System for the 21st Century written by National Cancer Policy Forum and published by . This book was released on 2011-09-19 with total page 122 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Clinical trials enable scientific discoveries to advance patient care, in addition to informing and guiding subsequent research. The National Cancer Institute's (NCI's) Clinical Trials Cooperative Group Program works to advance patient care and research. The Cooperative Group Program has been instrumental in establishing the standards for cancer patient care and clinical research methods. Despite broad participation in the program, financial strain and procedural burdens limit the ability of the Cooperative Group Program to undertake medical practice-changing clinical research. Thus, the Institute of Medicine's (IOM's) National Cancer Policy Forum and the American Society of Clinical Oncology held a workshop on March 21, 2011 to follow up on the 2010 IOM report, A National Clinical Trials System for the 21st Century: Reinvigorating the NCI Cooperative Group Program, which made recommendations to strengthen the NCI Cooperative Group Program. In keeping with the established commitment to excellence Implementing a National Cancer Clinical Trials System for the 21st Century outlines how to improve the current system by incorporating innovative science and trial design into cancer clinical trials. It also examines the impact of increasing quality in regards to speed, efficiency, design, launch, and conduct, as well as improving prioritization, and incentivized participation.

Implementing a National Cancer Clinical Trials System for the 21st Century

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Publisher :
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 92 pages
Book Rating : 4.:/5 (862 download)

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Book Synopsis Implementing a National Cancer Clinical Trials System for the 21st Century by :

Download or read book Implementing a National Cancer Clinical Trials System for the 21st Century written by and published by . This book was released on 2013 with total page 92 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "The National Clinical Trials Network (NCTN) supported by the National Cancer Institute (NCI) has played an integral role in cancer research and in establishing the standard of care for cancer patients for more than 50 years. Formerly known as the NCI Clinical Trials Cooperative Group Program, the NCTN is comprised of more than 2,100 institutions and 14,000 investigators, who enroll more than 20,000 cancer patients in clinical trials each year across the United States and internationally. Recognizing the recent transformative advances in cancer research that necessitate modernization in how cancer clinical trials are run, as well as inefficiencies and other challenges impeding the national cancer clinical trials program, the NCI asked the IOM to develop a set of recommendations to improve the federally funded cancer clinical trials system. These recommendations were published in the 2010 report, A National Cancer Clinical Trials System for the 21st Century: Reinvigorating the NCI Cooperative Group Program. In early 2011, the NCPF and the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) held a workshop in which stakeholders discussed the changes they planned to implement in response to the IOM goals and recommendations. Two years later, on February 11-12, 2013, in Washington, DC, the NCPF and ASCO reconvened stakeholders to report on the changes they have made thus far to address the IOM recommendations. At this workshop, representatives from the NCI, the NCTN, comprehensive cancer centers, patient advocacy groups, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), industry, and other stakeholders highlighted the progress that has been made in achieving the goals for a reinvigorated national cancer clinical trials system. Implementing a National Cancer Clinical Trials System for the 21st Century is a summary of that workshop. ."--Publisher's description.

Improving the Quality of Cancer Clinical Trials

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Publisher : National Academies Press
ISBN 13 : 0309178258
Total Pages : 136 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (91 download)

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Book Synopsis Improving the Quality of Cancer Clinical Trials by : Institute of Medicine

Download or read book Improving the Quality of Cancer Clinical Trials written by Institute of Medicine and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 2008-05-12 with total page 136 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Scientists and clinicians seek a new paradigm that could improve the efficiency, cost-effectiveness, and overall success rate of cancer clinical trials, while maintaining the highest standards of quality. To explore innovative paradigms for cancer clinical trials and other ways to improve their quality, the National Cancer Policy Forum held a workshop, Improving the Quality of Cancer Clinical Trials, in Washington, DC. The main goals of the workshop were to examine new approaches to clinical trial design and execution that would: (1) better inform decisions and plans of those responsible for developing new cancer therapies (2) more rapidly move new diagnostic tests and treatments toward regulatory approval and use in the clinic (3) be less costly than current trials The resulting workshop summary will serve as input to the deliberations of an Institute of Medicine committee that will develop consensus-based recommendations for moving the field of cancer clinical trials forward.

Crossing the Quality Chasm

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Publisher : National Academies Press
ISBN 13 : 0309072808
Total Pages : 360 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (9 download)

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Book Synopsis Crossing the Quality Chasm by : Institute of Medicine

Download or read book Crossing the Quality Chasm written by Institute of Medicine and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 2001-08-19 with total page 360 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Second in a series of publications from the Institute of Medicine's Quality of Health Care in America project Today's health care providers have more research findings and more technology available to them than ever before. Yet recent reports have raised serious doubts about the quality of health care in America. Crossing the Quality Chasm makes an urgent call for fundamental change to close the quality gap. This book recommends a sweeping redesign of the American health care system and provides overarching principles for specific direction for policymakers, health care leaders, clinicians, regulators, purchasers, and others. In this comprehensive volume the committee offers: A set of performance expectations for the 21st century health care system. A set of 10 new rules to guide patient-clinician relationships. A suggested organizing framework to better align the incentives inherent in payment and accountability with improvements in quality. Key steps to promote evidence-based practice and strengthen clinical information systems. Analyzing health care organizations as complex systems, Crossing the Quality Chasm also documents the causes of the quality gap, identifies current practices that impede quality care, and explores how systems approaches can be used to implement change.

Ensuring Quality Cancer Care Through the Oncology Workforce

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Publisher : National Academies Press
ISBN 13 : 0309177561
Total Pages : 95 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (91 download)

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Book Synopsis Ensuring Quality Cancer Care Through the Oncology Workforce by : Institute of Medicine

Download or read book Ensuring Quality Cancer Care Through the Oncology Workforce written by Institute of Medicine and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 2009-04-28 with total page 95 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) predicts that by 2020, there will be an 81 percent increase in people living with or surviving cancer, but only a 14 percent increase in the number of practicing oncologists. As a result, there may be too few oncologists to meet the population's need for cancer care. To help address the challenges in overcoming this potential crisis of cancer care, the National Cancer Policy Forum of the Institute of Medicine (IOM) convened the workshop Ensuring Quality Cancer Care through the Oncology Workforce: Sustaining Care in the 21st Century in Washington, DC on October 20 and 21, 2008.

Sharing Clinical Trial Data

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Publisher : National Academies Press
ISBN 13 : 0309316324
Total Pages : 304 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (93 download)

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Book Synopsis Sharing Clinical Trial Data by : Institute of Medicine

Download or read book Sharing Clinical Trial Data written by Institute of Medicine and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 2015-04-20 with total page 304 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Data sharing can accelerate new discoveries by avoiding duplicative trials, stimulating new ideas for research, and enabling the maximal scientific knowledge and benefits to be gained from the efforts of clinical trial participants and investigators. At the same time, sharing clinical trial data presents risks, burdens, and challenges. These include the need to protect the privacy and honor the consent of clinical trial participants; safeguard the legitimate economic interests of sponsors; and guard against invalid secondary analyses, which could undermine trust in clinical trials or otherwise harm public health. Sharing Clinical Trial Data presents activities and strategies for the responsible sharing of clinical trial data. With the goal of increasing scientific knowledge to lead to better therapies for patients, this book identifies guiding principles and makes recommendations to maximize the benefits and minimize risks. This report offers guidance on the types of clinical trial data available at different points in the process, the points in the process at which each type of data should be shared, methods for sharing data, what groups should have access to data, and future knowledge and infrastructure needs. Responsible sharing of clinical trial data will allow other investigators to replicate published findings and carry out additional analyses, strengthen the evidence base for regulatory and clinical decisions, and increase the scientific knowledge gained from investments by the funders of clinical trials. The recommendations of Sharing Clinical Trial Data will be useful both now and well into the future as improved sharing of data leads to a stronger evidence base for treatment. This book will be of interest to stakeholders across the spectrum of research--from funders, to researchers, to journals, to physicians, and ultimately, to patients.

The Drug Development Paradigm in Oncology

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Publisher : National Academies Press
ISBN 13 : 0309457971
Total Pages : 145 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (94 download)

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Book Synopsis The Drug Development Paradigm in Oncology by : National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine

Download or read book The Drug Development Paradigm in Oncology written by National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 2018-02-12 with total page 145 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Advances in cancer research have led to an improved understanding of the molecular mechanisms underpinning the development of cancer and how the immune system responds to cancer. This influx of research has led to an increasing number and variety of therapies in the drug development pipeline, including targeted therapies and associated biomarker tests that can select which patients are most likely to respond, and immunotherapies that harness the body's immune system to destroy cancer cells. Compared with standard chemotherapies, these new cancer therapies may demonstrate evidence of benefit and clearer distinctions between efficacy and toxicity at an earlier stage of development. However, there is a concern that the traditional processes for cancer drug development, evaluation, and regulatory approval could impede or delay the use of these promising cancer treatments in clinical practice. This has led to a number of effortsâ€"by patient advocates, the pharmaceutical industry, and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA)â€"to accelerate the review of promising new cancer therapies, especially for cancers that currently lack effective treatments. However, generating the necessary data to confirm safety and efficacy during expedited drug development programs can present a unique set of challenges and opportunities. To explore this new landscape in cancer drug development, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine developed a workshop held in December 2016. This workshop convened cancer researchers, patient advocates, and representatives from industry, academia, and government to discuss challenges with traditional approaches to drug development, opportunities to improve the efficiency of drug development, and strategies to enhance the information available about a cancer therapy throughout its life cycle in order to improve its use in clinical practice. This publication summarizes the presentations and discussions from the workshop.

Ensuring Quality Cancer Care

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Publisher : National Academies Press
ISBN 13 : 0309173140
Total Pages : 256 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (91 download)

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Book Synopsis Ensuring Quality Cancer Care by : Institute of Medicine and National Research Council

Download or read book Ensuring Quality Cancer Care written by Institute of Medicine and National Research Council and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 1999-07-21 with total page 256 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: We all want to believe that when people get cancer, they will receive medical care of the highest quality. Even as new scientific breakthroughs are announced, though, many cancer patients may be getting the wrong care, too little care, or too much care, in the form of unnecessary procedures. How close is American medicine to the ideal of quality cancer care for every person with cancer? Ensuring Quality Cancer Care provides a comprehensive picture of how cancer care is delivered in our nation, from early detection to end-of-life issues. The National Cancer Policy Board defines quality care and recommends how to monitor, measure, and extend quality care to all people with cancer. Approaches to accountability in health care are reviewed. What keeps people from getting care? The book explains how lack of medical coverage, social and economic status, patient beliefs, physician decision-making, and other factors can stand between the patient and the best possible care. The board explores how cancer care is shaped by the current focus on evidence-based medicine, the widespread adoption of managed care, where services are provided, and who provides care. Specific shortfalls in the care of breast and prostate cancer are identified. A status report on health services research is included. Ensuring Quality Cancer Care offers wide-ranging data and information in clear context. As the baby boomers approach the years when most cancer occurs, this timely volume will be of special interest to health policy makers, public and private healthcare purchasers, medical professionals, patient advocates, researchers, and people with cancer.

Contemporary Issues for Protecting Patients in Cancer Research

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Publisher :
ISBN 13 : 9780309306669
Total Pages : 0 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (66 download)

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Book Synopsis Contemporary Issues for Protecting Patients in Cancer Research by : Sharyl J. Nass

Download or read book Contemporary Issues for Protecting Patients in Cancer Research written by Sharyl J. Nass and published by . This book was released on 2014 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the nearly 40 years since implementation of federal regulations governing the protection of human participants in research, the number of clinical studies has grown exponentially. These studies have become more complex, with multisite trials now common, and there is increasing use of archived biospecimens and related data, including genomics data. In addition, growing emphasis on targeted cancer therapies requires greater collaboration and sharing of research data to ensure that rare patient subsets are adequately represented. Electronic records enable more extensive data collection and mining, but also raise concerns about the potential for inappropriate or unauthorized use of data, bringing patient protections into a new landscape. There are also long-standing concerns about the processes and forms used to obtain informed consent from patients participating in clinical studies. These changes and challenges raise new ethical and practical questions for the oversight of clinical studies, and for protecting patients and their health information in an efficient manner that does not compromise the progress of biomedical research. Contemporary Issues for Protecting Patients in Cancer Research is the summary of a workshop convened by the National Cancer Policy Forum of the Institute of Medicine in February 2014 to explore contemporary issues in human subjects protections as they pertain to cancer research, with the goal of identifying potential relevant policy actions. Clinical researchers, government officials, members of Institutional Review Boards, and patient advocates met to discuss clinical cancer research and oversight. This report examines current regulatory provisions that may not adequately protect patients or may be hindering research, and discusses potential strategies and actions to address those challenges.

Multi-Center Phase III Clinical Trials and NCI Cooperative Groups

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Publisher : National Academies Press
ISBN 13 : 0309128676
Total Pages : 134 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (91 download)

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Book Synopsis Multi-Center Phase III Clinical Trials and NCI Cooperative Groups by : Institute of Medicine

Download or read book Multi-Center Phase III Clinical Trials and NCI Cooperative Groups written by Institute of Medicine and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 2009-03-02 with total page 134 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The NCI-sponsored cooperative groups have made important contributions to improving treatment for many types of cancer, including breast, ovarian, colorectal, and childhood cancers. Cooperative group research has been instrumental in establishing innovative treatments that improve outcomes and quality of life. Despite these successes, the Cooperative Group Program has faced a number of challenges that threaten its effectiveness. To address this problem, the National Cancer Policy Forum (NCPF) convened a workshop titled "Multi-Center Phase III Clinical Trials and NCI Cooperative Groups" in Washington, DC, on July 1-2, 2008. The purpose of the workshop was to outline the challenges that the public clinical cancer research enterprise faces, and to identify possible solutions to these challenges.

Small Clinical Trials

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Publisher : National Academies Press
ISBN 13 : 9780309171144
Total Pages : 222 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (711 download)

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Book Synopsis Small Clinical Trials by : Institute of Medicine

Download or read book Small Clinical Trials written by Institute of Medicine and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 2001-01-01 with total page 222 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Clinical trials are used to elucidate the most appropriate preventive, diagnostic, or treatment options for individuals with a given medical condition. Perhaps the most essential feature of a clinical trial is that it aims to use results based on a limited sample of research participants to see if the intervention is safe and effective or if it is comparable to a comparison treatment. Sample size is a crucial component of any clinical trial. A trial with a small number of research participants is more prone to variability and carries a considerable risk of failing to demonstrate the effectiveness of a given intervention when one really is present. This may occur in phase I (safety and pharmacologic profiles), II (pilot efficacy evaluation), and III (extensive assessment of safety and efficacy) trials. Although phase I and II studies may have smaller sample sizes, they usually have adequate statistical power, which is the committee's definition of a "large" trial. Sometimes a trial with eight participants may have adequate statistical power, statistical power being the probability of rejecting the null hypothesis when the hypothesis is false. Small Clinical Trials assesses the current methodologies and the appropriate situations for the conduct of clinical trials with small sample sizes. This report assesses the published literature on various strategies such as (1) meta-analysis to combine disparate information from several studies including Bayesian techniques as in the confidence profile method and (2) other alternatives such as assessing therapeutic results in a single treated population (e.g., astronauts) by sequentially measuring whether the intervention is falling above or below a preestablished probability outcome range and meeting predesigned specifications as opposed to incremental improvement.

Reducing Environmental Cancer Risk

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Publisher : DIANE Publishing
ISBN 13 : 1437934218
Total Pages : 240 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (379 download)

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Book Synopsis Reducing Environmental Cancer Risk by : Suzanne H. Reuben

Download or read book Reducing Environmental Cancer Risk written by Suzanne H. Reuben and published by DIANE Publishing. This book was released on 2010-10 with total page 240 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Though overall cancer incidence and mortality have continued to decline in recent years, cancer continues to devastate the lives of far too many Americans. In 2009 alone, 1.5 million American men, women, and children were diagnosed with cancer, and 562,000 died from the disease. There is a growing body of evidence linking environmental exposures to cancer. The Pres. Cancer Panel dedicated its 2008¿2009 activities to examining the impact of environmental factors on cancer risk. The Panel considered industrial, occupational, and agricultural exposures as well as exposures related to medical practice, military activities, modern lifestyles, and natural sources. This report presents the Panel¿s recommend. to mitigate or eliminate these barriers. Illus.

Centers of the Cancer Universe

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Publisher : Rowman & Littlefield
ISBN 13 : 1538144905
Total Pages : 313 pages
Book Rating : 4.5/5 (381 download)

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Book Synopsis Centers of the Cancer Universe by : D. L. D. Trump

Download or read book Centers of the Cancer Universe written by D. L. D. Trump and published by Rowman & Littlefield. This book was released on 2021-10-11 with total page 313 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Centers of the Cancer Universe: A Half-Century of Progress Against Cancer reviews 50-years of progress in cancer research and treatment since the signing of the 1971 National Cancer Act, and the role played by the NCI-designated cancer centers created by the Act.

To Err Is Human

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Publisher : National Academies Press
ISBN 13 : 0309068371
Total Pages : 312 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (9 download)

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Book Synopsis To Err Is Human by : Institute of Medicine

Download or read book To Err Is Human written by Institute of Medicine and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 2000-03-01 with total page 312 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Experts estimate that as many as 98,000 people die in any given year from medical errors that occur in hospitals. That's more than die from motor vehicle accidents, breast cancer, or AIDSâ€"three causes that receive far more public attention. Indeed, more people die annually from medication errors than from workplace injuries. Add the financial cost to the human tragedy, and medical error easily rises to the top ranks of urgent, widespread public problems. To Err Is Human breaks the silence that has surrounded medical errors and their consequenceâ€"but not by pointing fingers at caring health care professionals who make honest mistakes. After all, to err is human. Instead, this book sets forth a national agendaâ€"with state and local implicationsâ€"for reducing medical errors and improving patient safety through the design of a safer health system. This volume reveals the often startling statistics of medical error and the disparity between the incidence of error and public perception of it, given many patients' expectations that the medical profession always performs perfectly. A careful examination is made of how the surrounding forces of legislation, regulation, and market activity influence the quality of care provided by health care organizations and then looks at their handling of medical mistakes. Using a detailed case study, the book reviews the current understanding of why these mistakes happen. A key theme is that legitimate liability concerns discourage reporting of errorsâ€"which begs the question, "How can we learn from our mistakes?" Balancing regulatory versus market-based initiatives and public versus private efforts, the Institute of Medicine presents wide-ranging recommendations for improving patient safety, in the areas of leadership, improved data collection and analysis, and development of effective systems at the level of direct patient care. To Err Is Human asserts that the problem is not bad people in health careâ€"it is that good people are working in bad systems that need to be made safer. Comprehensive and straightforward, this book offers a clear prescription for raising the level of patient safety in American health care. It also explains how patients themselves can influence the quality of care that they receive once they check into the hospital. This book will be vitally important to federal, state, and local health policy makers and regulators, health professional licensing officials, hospital administrators, medical educators and students, health caregivers, health journalists, patient advocatesâ€"as well as patients themselves. First in a series of publications from the Quality of Health Care in America, a project initiated by the Institute of Medicine