News

Dr. Pramod Vadlamani Appointed Cancer Liaison for Beebe Medical Center

05/08/03

Pramod Vadlamani, M.D., a medical oncologist on active staff at Beebe Medical Center, recently received a three-year appointment as Cancer Liaison Physician between Beebe’s Tunnell Cancer Center and the Commission on Cancer of the American College of Surgeons. The Cancer Liaison Program is an integral part of the Commission. Dr. Vadlamani is among a national network of over 1,600 volunteer Cancer Liaison Physicians who provide leadership and support to the Commission’s Cancer Approvals Program and other related activities at their local facilities.

Dr. Vadlamani, who has a significant interest in the diagnosis and treatment of patients with malignant diseases, provides leadership as a member of the cancer committee at Beebe Medical Center in order to maintain the Tunnell Cancer Center’s Commission-approved cancer program.

The Commission on Cancer is a consortium of professional organizations dedicated to reducing the morbidity and mortality of cancer through education, standard-setting, and monitoring the quality of cancer care. Its membership includes Fellows of the American College of Surgeons and 37 national organizations that reflect the full spectrum of cancer care.
The Commission’s core functions include setting standards for quality, multidisciplinary cancer patient care and cancer data collection at over 1,400 approved facilities, surveying those facilities to evaluate compliance with the standards, and using the data to develop effective educational interventions to improve cancer care outcomes at national, state and local levels. Twenty-two percent of the hospitals in the United States have cancer programs approved by the Commission on Cancer and 82 percent of newly diagnosed cancer patients are treated in these institutions.

Cancer Liaison Physicians facilitate participation in, and utilize data generated by, the data collection program of the Commission, the National Cancer Data Base (NCDB). The database currently contains patient demographics, tumor characteristics, treatment, and outcomes information for 12 million malignant cancers diagnosed and treated at hospital cancer programs in the United States between 1985 and 2000. This data accounts for approximately two thirds of newly diagnosed cancers in the United States each year. Cancer Liaison Physicians cooperate regularly with this program in the submission, presentation, use, and interpretation of the resultant reports; and participation in this program can impact cancer patient care at their facilities.

The American Cancer Society (ACS) estimates that 1,334,100 cases of cancer will be diagnosed during 2003. Cancer Liaison Physicians at Commission-approved programs facilitate participation in the Commission’s Facility Information Profile System by coordinating the voluntary sharing of information on their facility’s resources and services and cancer experiences. Data is shared with the public through the ACS National Call Center and website.
For more information on the Cancer Liaison Program and the Commission on Cancer, please contact the Commission on Cancer at the American College of Surgeons, Chicago, IL, 312-202-5085.