The National Accreditation Program for Breast Centers: quality improvement through standard setting.

The breast center concept developed in response to a fragmented inefficient system to evaluate and manage patients with diseases of the breast. The National Accreditation Program for Breast Centers (NAPBC) accreditation is granted only to those centers that have voluntarily committed to provide the best in the diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer and are able to comply with the established NAPBC standards. Each center must undergo a rigorous evaluation and review of its performance and compliance with the NAPBC standards. The NAPBC is in the process of defining the most efficient methods of data collection for the NAPBC-accredited programs.