Quality Care - Quality care means providing the patient with accurate evaluation and appropriate services with compassion in a technically competent and timely manner, with good communication and shared decision-making in a culturally sensitive fashion.
Participants - Participation in the NQMBC™ Program is by breast center site. Any type of breast center can choose to participate. If a breast center is part of a hospital system, all centers or a select center can participate. The breast center does not need to be a member of the National Consortium of Breast Centers.
Breast Center Sites - A physical setting where breast health care services are provided. Breast health care services may be a part of the patient services offered, or may be the only patient service offered at that site. The physical setting of the breast center may be (but is not limited to) part of a hospital setting, medical clinic, research center, cancer center or women's wellness center. The setting may also be a building or office separate from any of the above. Within the NQMBC™ Program, any site that provides breast health care services will be included in the definition of a "breast center."
Breast Center Profile Characteristics - These would include the size of their breast cancer treatment facility/hospital, size of the community they serve, volume of breast cancer patients seen, number of mammograms performed annually, patient characteristics, regional location and provider compensation structure. These characteristics will aid centers to compare themselves with similarly structured centers.
"Provided" Components of Service - Depending on the type of breast center, breast centers offer varied services. We distinguish the types of breast centers by the components of service "provided" by that center (with quality control) not by the components of service available. In order for a center to be considered "providing" a component of service, they must have "quality control" of that component of service. Quality control of a service occurs if there is data to review of that service and if the center can impact the type of care provided.
Provided vs. Referred Care - Depending on the type of breast center, breast centers offer varied services. We distinguish the type of breast center by the components of service "provided" by that facility with quality control, not by the components of service available.
Provided components of service are those for which the center has quality control. The location of those components of service does not impact the definition of "provided" services, as long as quality control exists. Provided services may exist on-site or locally off-site.
Referred components of services are performed without quality control by the breast center. This means he center does not have both quantative data and the direct ability to modify that component of service. Services are referred to outside vendors who may not readily share quality information or allow influence over their services.
Quality Control - this term means that there is quantitative data of that component of service available to the center and the breast center has the direct ability to modify that component of service (procedural influence not complete control). This allows the center to have quality monitoring and influence on the services they provide.
