The Effect of the Adoption of the National Accreditation Program for Rectal Cancer Process on Compliance Standards at a Single Institution.

The National Accreditation Program for Rectal Cancer (NAPRC) was developed to enhance the quality of rectal cancer care in the United States. This project compared NAPRC compliance at a single tertiary care academic hospital before and after the institution adopted these standards in 2019. Rectal cancer patients from 2016 to 2023 who met NAPRC eligibility criteria were retrospectively reviewed for compliance with pre-selected patient care standards. Patients diagnosed prior to August 1, 2019 (pre-NAPRC) were compared with those diagnosed afterward (post-NAPRC) to determine whether compliance with these standards differed following the institution's adoption of new guidelines. This study included 353 patients, 146 pre-NAPRC and 207 post-NAPRC. The post-NAPRC group demonstrated significantly higher compliance with pretreatment standards compared to the pre-NAPRC group, including attaining magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) ( = .015), computed tomography (CT) ( < .001), and a carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) level ( < .001). Postoperative standards were more frequently met in the post-NAPRC group regarding the photographing of surgical specimens ( < .001). No significant differences were observed in confirming a tissue diagnosis, starting treatment within a 60-day timeframe, or completing surgical pathology reports. Prior to initiation of the NAPRC process, the institution had achieved accreditation-level compliance in 2 of the 7 standards. Within 2 years of adopting NAPRC standards, complete compliance was met in 6 of the 7 measures. A single institution's adoption of NAPRC standards improved compliance with multiple rectal cancer care standards, achieving near-complete accreditation level compliance within 2 years.