Radiation Oncology receives national re-accreditation

MaineGeneral Medical Center’s radiation oncology program at the Harold Alfond Center for Cancer Care (HACCC) in Augusta recently received a three-year re-accreditation from the American College of Radiology (ACR).

Received in late May following a survey conducted by the ACR Committee on Radiation Oncology Practice Accreditation, the accreditation extends to May 31, 2025.

Barbara Wiggin, manager for Radiation Oncology and Cancer Registry at the HACCC, said the recognition comes after a thorough review of the program.

“The accreditation application included looking at our staff qualifications and verifying that our patient documentation and charts meet radiation oncology best practice standards as recommended by ASTRO Practice Parameters for Radiation Oncology,” Wiggin said.

“The surveyors reviewed all of our quality improvement initiatives and quality control on our radiation oncology treatment machines. They were very impressed with our program and all of the accomplishments we’ve had during the COVID-19 pandemic years.”

The ACR accreditation, coupled with the Quality Oncology Practice Initiative (QOPI^®) certification for the medical oncology program and the center’s accreditation by the Commission on Cancer speaks to the expert, high-quality nature of the oncology services provided by the center’s staff to thousands of cancer patients each year, Wiggin noted.

“Having these three accreditations ensures every area of our oncology program is being reviewed to verify that we’re meeting best practice standards and allows us to benchmark our program with some of the best cancer centers in the country,” she said.

To learn more about MaineGeneral’s oncology services, visit www.mainegeneral.org/cancer.