Version 1 September 2024
The European Quality Assurance (QA) Scheme for Breast Cancer Services is a voluntary certification scheme delivered by the European Commission Initiative on Breast Cancer (ECIBC). It covers the entire care pathway, from breast cancer screening to palliative care, and has been developed to support quality improvement in breast cancer services across Europe, within the context of organised, population-based cancer screening programmes.
As a result of the European Council Recommendation from 2003 , the European Union (EU) has been focusing on improving cancer prevention, screening and care for breast, colorectal and cervical cancer. In 2008, the European Parliament and Council further reinforced the request to support Members States in their efforts to fight cancer and in December 2022 the Council Recommendation was updated to include lung, prostate and gastric cancer.
The European Commission’s Joint Research Centre (JRC) has been mandated to coordinate the ECIBC in collaboration with the Directorate-General for Health and Food Safety (DG SANTE) as an activity under the European Commission Knowledge Centre on Cancer (KCC) , one of the flagship initiatives of the Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan .
ECIBC offers a person-centred quality assurance scheme (the European QA scheme) alongside evidence-based guidelines. This initiative aims to support healthcare providers and screening programme organisers, as well as policymakers and other stakeholders, with the instruments necessary to implement high-quality breast cancer screening, diagnosis, treatment and follow-up care that is equally accessible across Europe.
The European QA scheme defines a common set of quality and safety requirements for breast cancer services across diverse healthcare settings. These requirements will be revised periodically to reflect updates of the European guidelines and to take into account continuing advances in healthcare.
Breast cancer care services that comply with these requirements are eligible to apply for the European QA scheme certification, underpinned by the European legislative framework on accreditation (defined in Regulation (EC) No 765/2008 ), and equally recognised in all Member States. This accredited certification framework ensures a harmonised level of care for breast cancer patients across Europe and provides assurance that, regardless of where patients are treated, they can expect a consistently high standard of care. The objective of the certification is to increase confidence in the quality of care that the services provide to women and to ensure the continuity of care where services are delivered within different structures.
Specific provisions are included in the scheme for those breast cancer services that already hold certification for other well-established quality assurance schemes, in order to avoid duplication of efforts and to facilitate transition to accredited certification for the European QA scheme.
JANUSCH ROI Annett;
BALDACCHINO Shawn;
GARCIA ESCRIBANO Marta;
STATHOPOULOU Aliki;
STĂNICĂ Luciana;
MORGANO Gian Paolo;
MANNIK Agnes;
KINSNER-OVASKAINEN Agnieszka;
O'GRADY Tony;
CALDEIRA Sandra;
NICHOLL Ciaran;
NEAMTIU Luciana;
LERDA Donata;
LOPEZ ALCALDE Jesus;
AMBROSIO Massimo;
BOCCHI Giulia;
BRAMESFELD Anke;
DEANDREA Silvia;
DIMITROVA Nadya;
FEDERICO Grazia;
FREEMAN Crystal;
PAKALIN Sazan;
PARMELLI Elena;
PYLKKANEN Liisa;
RIGGI Emilia;
SAZ-PARKINSON Zuleika;
TORIGHELLI Beatriz;
ULUTURK TEKIN Asli;
VILAHUR CHIARAVIGLIO Nadia;
MANSEL Robert;
SARDANELLI Francesco;
APOSTOLIDIS Kathi;
BORISCH Bettina;
BOSMANS Hilde;
BRIDGES Jennifer-Jane;
BRUCKER Sara;
AUGUSTO Caraceni;
CATALIOTTI Luigi;
CLAASSEN Saskia;
ENIU Alexandru;
GRIVEGNEE André;
KAUFMAN Cary;
FATJONA Kraja;
KOSMIDIS Thanos;
MESARIĆ Jasna;
ORDA Ruben;
PHELAN Niall;
POLETTI Piera;
PONTI Antonio;
RITCHIE David;
RODRIGUES Vitor;
ROSSI Elio Giovanni;
SIESLING Sabine;
STANTA Giorgio;
TRAVADO Luzia;
TRESSERRA Francisco;
VAN ONGEVAL Chantal;
WOODS Mary;
ZAMBON Marzia;
BEAUMONT Jane;
SCHREUDER Kay;
TOMATIS Mariano;
2025-01-22
Publications Office of the European Union
JRC140425
978-92-68-22628-5 (online),
978-92-68-22629-2 (print),
OP KJ-01-24-191-EN-N (online),
OP KJ-01-24-191-EN-C (print),
https://publications.jrc.ec.europa.eu/repository/handle/JRC140425,
10.2760/7067385 (online),
10.2760/5316485 (print),
