Portland, Maine (January 18, 2013), Breast Care Specialist of Maine (BCSM)has recently been recognized as a Certified Quality Breast Center in the National Quality Measures for Breast Centers Program ™. This distinguished honor represents a commitment by Breast Care Specialists of Maine to provide the highest level of quality breast health care to patients in their community and puts Mercy on track to become certified as a Breast Center of Excellence.
Measuring and comparing quality performance is essential in assessing patient care and allocating resources where improvement is desired. In today’s dynamic health care industry, breast centers are faced with providing quality care while simultaneously keeping costs under control. A center’s staff must not only be familiar with existing standards of care, but must also be aware of new advances in technology. The National Quality Measures for Breast Centers™ were developed by referencing the Health Care Advisory Board’s Clinical Quality Dash Board for breast centers published in the fall of 2004. The National Quality Measures for Breast Centers™ reflect more than five years of work, which has culminated in the adoption of more than 33 National Quality Indicators™.
Breast Care Specialists of Maine, a department of the Mercy Health System of Maine, is recognized as one of the highest-performing breast care centers in the country, with leading medical professionals and extensive resources available to meet the full spectrum of patient needs. It is fully accredited by the National Accreditation Program for Breast Centers. The National Consortium of Breast Centers promotes excellence in breast health care for the general public through a network of diverse professionals dedicated to the active exchange of ideas and resources. It serves as an informational resource and provides support services to those rendering care to people with breast diseases through educational programs, newsletters, a national directory and patient forums. It encourages professionals to concentrate and specialize in activities related to breast disease and encourages the development of programs and centers that address breast disease and promote breast health. It facilitates collaborative research opportunities on issues of breast health; and developed a set of core measures to define, improve and sustain quality standards in breast health care programs and for quality performance in all types of breast health care facilities.
For more information regarding the NQMBC™ Program, visit www.breastcare.org. National Consortium of Breast Centers, Inc.P.O. Box 1334Warsaw,IN46581-1334



