European Cancer Centre Certification Programme

With the number of German Cancer Society (Deutsche Krebsgesellschaft, DKG)-certified centres constantly increasing, the certification system has become the largest in Europe. After 15 years of successfully implementing the certification system in Germany and neighbouring countries, and with numerous studies demonstrating the effectiveness of the system’s key principles, the certification program is now ready to take the next step and broaden its scope by launching the European Cancer Centre (ECC) Certification Programme. The ECC Programme is the basis for the DKG’s work in the European Commission Joint Actions (CanCon, iPAAC) and for the cooperation with European medical societies. This step will support the expansion and improvement of oncological care delivery in the European member states. Thanks to the comprehensive data collection mechanisms within the certification system, the quality of cancer care becomes not only transparent, but also measurable, comparable and improvable across country boarders. Building upon a European certification system with uniform standards and processes and an auditing system based on quality metrics, the foundation for comprehensive Europe-wide cancer health services research will be laid. This will pave the way towards high-quality cancer care in all European member states.