NORTHFIELD, Ill.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Accreditation Committee of the College of American Pathologists (CAP) has awarded accreditation to National Cancer Center Hospital East (Kashiwa City, Japan) based on results of a recent on-site inspection as part of the CAP’s Accreditation Programs.
The facility’s director, Atsushi Ohtsu, MD, was advised of this international recognition and congratulated for the excellence of the services being provided. The National Cancer Center Hospital East (NCCHE) is one of more than 8,000 CAP-accredited facilities worldwide.
“By maintaining CAP accreditation in the future, the National Cancer Center Hospital East will provide the highest level of quality assured tests,” said Dr. Ohtsu. “And as a more reliable hospital, we will work to further improve treatment and promote clinical research and development based on the patient-first policy.”
While there are more than 30 CAP-accredited laboratories in Japan, most of them are private clinical laboratories, research laboratories and laboratories specializing in genetic testing. NCCHE is currently the only hospital laboratory in Japan to receive CAP accreditation.
“The CAP congratulates the National Cancer Center East on its recent CAP Accreditation,” said CAP President Emily Volk, MD, FCAP. “NCCHE is committed, as is the CAP, to the constant surveillance of laboratory quality for the benefit of the patient and the physician who treats the patient.”
The U.S. federal government recognizes the CAP Laboratory Accreditation Program, begun in the early 1960s, as being equal-to or more-stringent-than the government’s own inspection program.
During the CAP accreditation process, designed to ensure the highest standard of care for all laboratory patients, inspectors examine the laboratory’s records and quality control of procedures for the preceding two years. CAP inspectors also examine laboratory staff qualifications, equipment, facilities, safety program and record, and overall management.
Throughout the inspection, the CAP team worked hard to find opportunities for improvement and was impressed with NCCHE’s QMS (Quality Management System) and how this system is key to integrating related clinical departments, noted Richard M. Scanlan, MD, FCAP, chair of the CAP’s Council on Accreditation, who was one of NCCHE’s inspection leaders.
“We have rarely seen a facility where different departments such as the clinical testing department and the nursing department are closely linked,” said Dr. Scanlan. “NCCHE joins the thousands of other CAP-accredited laboratories that are committed to raising the quality of laboratory services nationally and internationally.”
About the College of American Pathologists
As the world’s largest organization of board-certified pathologists and leading provider of laboratory accreditation and proficiency testing programs, the College of American Pathologists (CAP) serves patients, pathologists, and the public by fostering and advocating excellence in the practice of pathology and laboratory medicine worldwide. For more information, read the CAP Annual Report at cap.org.
