MercyOne earns accreditation for rectal cancer care

Des Moines, Iowa; Feb. 28, 2023 – MercyOne Richard Deming Cancer Center has earned a three-year accreditation from the National Accreditation Program for Rectal Cancer (NAPRC), a quality program of the American College of Surgeons.

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 met 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.

“MercyOne, the only rectal cancer center of excellence in Iowa, continues to set the standard for cancer care. The NAPRC accredits organizations that have demonstrated structural and process excellence that ensure better outcomes for rectal cancer, which is a difficult cancer to treat,” says Dr. Shankar Raman, MercyOne rectal cancer program director. “Cancer physicians of various specialties come together to personalize the treatment pathways for patients, including adoption of new treatment approaches that ensure superb outcomes with focus on quality of life. MercyOne Richard Deming Cancer Center patients are guaranteed that all treatment plans are vetted by an expert team of physicians, who specialize in rectal cancer care.

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 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.