Quality initiatives in head and neck cancer

A growing national health care initiative is gathering momentum to improve the quality of care for all Americans. Efforts to establish, monitor, and reward quality care have therefore been extensive. The Institute of Medicine has established that a large proportion of individuals do not receive recommended cancer care for their stage of disease, and that quality of care metrics should be established to decrease inappropriate care (overuse, under use, or wrong use). The American Head and Neck Society has been instrumental in developing quality measures for two of the most common head and neck cancers and in promoting adherence to these measures to improve quality of care for all patients.