The Michigan Radiation Oncology Quality Consortium (MROQC) was established in 2011, through the generous support from Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan and Blue Care Network. In this first-of-its-kind collaborative quality initiative (CQI), MROQC has created a comprehensive clinical data registry of patients receiving radiation treatment for breast, lung, and prostate cancers and bone metastases.  Our registry is maintained by the MROQC Coordinating Center and includes both patient-reported outcomes and physician assessments of toxicity as well as data on radiation treatment delivery and dose.  

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The overall aims of the collaborative include, among others, to determine the most appropriate use of intensity modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) for breast and lung cancer patients as well to establish and disseminate best practice guidelines that enable radiation oncology practitioners to optimize the delivery of cost-effective care. These guidelines provide for reduction in radiation treatment times and costs of radiation treatment for breast, lung, prostate cancers, and for cancer that has spread to the bones while enhancing the overall quality, value, and outcomes for patients receiving radiation therapy in Michigan.  MROQC practice guidelines also help members improve quality by facilitating the clinical implementation of recommendations from national organizations such as the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN), the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO), and the American Association of Physicists in Medicine (AAPM) across different technology platforms.

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Today, MROQC is comprised of 25 radiation treatment facilities (22 hospital-based and 3 free-standing) and over 300 members participate in this CQI.  The collaborative has formed working groups, each comprised of a subset of clinical champions (those radiation oncologists who agree to implement best practices identified by the consortium within their practices), participating physicians, radiation oncology residents, medical physicists and dosimetrists, clinical data abstractors, and facility administrators to focus on each treatment site and corresponding Quality Improvement (QI) efforts. In addition, three collaborative-wide meetings are held each year to discuss data, review measures of processes of care and patient outcomes, and identify strategies and best practices for quality improvement.