Standardization of care can reduce the risk of errors, increase efficiency, and provide a framework for best practice. In 2008, the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) and the Oncology Nursing Society (ONS) invited a broad range of stakeholders to create a set of standards for the administration of chemotherapy to adult patients in the outpatient setting. At the close of a full-day structured workshop, 64 draft standards were proposed. After a formal process of electronic voting and conference calls, 29 draft standards were eliminated, resulting in a final list of 35 draft measures. The proposed set of standards was posted for 6 weeks of open public comment. Three hundred twenty-two comments were reviewed by the Steering Group and used as the basis for final editing to a final set of standards. The final list includes 31 standards encompassing seven domains, which include the following: review of clinical information and selection of a treatment regimen; treatment planning and informed consent; ordering of treatment; drug preparation; assessment of treatment compliance; administration and monitoring; and assessment of response and toxicity monitoring. Adherence to ASCO and ONS standards for safe chemotherapy administration should be a goal of all providers of adult cancer care.

Standardization of care can reduce the risk of errors, increase efficiency, and provide a framework for best practice. In 2008, the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) and the Oncology Nursing Society (ONS) invited a broad range of stakeholders to create a set of standards for the administration of chemotherapy to adult patients in the outpatient setting. At the close of a full-day structured workshop, 64 draft standards were proposed. After a formal process of electronic voting and conference calls, 29 draft standards were eliminated, resulting in a final list of 35 draft measures. The proposed set of standards was posted for 6 weeks of open public comment. Three hundred twenty-two comments were reviewed by the Steering Group and used as the basis for final editing to a final set of standards. The final list includes 31 standards encompassing seven domains, which include the following: review of clinical information and selection of a treatment regimen; treatment planning and informed consent; ordering of treatment; drug preparation; assessment of treatment compliance; administration and monitoring; assessment of response and toxicity monitoring. Adherence to ASCO and ONS standards for safe chemotherapy administration should be a goal of all providers of adult cancer care.

Cancer in the United States accounts for $600 billion in health care costs, lost work time and productivity, reduced quality of life, and premature mortality. The future of oncology delivery must mend disconnects to equitably improve patient outcomes while constraining costs and burden on patients, caregivers, and care teams. Embedding learning health systems into oncology can connect care, engaging patients and providers in fully interoperable data systems that remotely monitor patients; generate predictive and prescriptive analytics to facilitate appropriate, timely referrals; and extend the reach of clinicians beyond clinic walls. Incorporating functional learning systems into the future of oncology and follow-up care requires coordinated national attention to 4 synergistic strategies: (1) galvanize and shape public discourse to develop and adopt these systems, (2) demonstrate their value, (3) test and evaluate their use, and (4) reform policy to incentivize and regulate their use.