CeQOL vs NCCN Guidelines®

Hernia repairs are the most common operation performed worldwide. For many years, the surgical measure of success was almost solely considered to be the lack of hernia recurrence. Today, better defined surgical techniques and the use of mesh to repair a hernia have substantially decreased the incidence of surgical failure. Given this, we believe that the next phase in hernia surgery is to use a patient’s quality-of-life (QOL) as the major measure of operative success. The Carolinas Equation for Quality of Life (CeQOL) predicts the incidence of chronic pain following inguinal hernia repair in males. Male users simply answer 18 simple questions about themselves, their hernia, and their current QOL status as it relates to their hernia, and a percentage chance of having some form of discomfort 1 year following surgery is produced and interpreted. The complex mathematical equation, which was derived from closely following patients from around the world after their surgery, has been independently tested and found to be accurate and reliable. Our ultimate goal is to use mobile app technology to provide surgeons and patients with a powerful educational tool that can predict individualized QOL outcomes after inguinal hernia surgery and offer patients extensive educational materials concerning many types of hernias and their treatments.

The National Comprehensive Cancer Network® (NCCN®), is pleased to present the Virtual Library of NCCN Guidelines® app formatted for iPhone & iPad. This easy-to-use and convenient format will further assist health care professionals in their implementation of the NCCN Clinical Practice Guidelines in Oncology (NCCN Guidelines®), thus improving the quality and effectiveness of care provided to patients with cancer. NCCN is a not-for-profit alliance of leading cancer centers devoted to patient care, research, and education. NCCN is dedicated to improving and facilitating quality, effective, efficient, and accessible cancer care so patients can live better lives. Through the leadership and expertise of clinical professionals at NCCN Member Institutions, NCCN develops resources that present valuable information to the numerous stakeholders in the health care delivery system. By defining and advancing high-quality cancer care, NCCN promotes the importance of continuous quality improvement and recognizes the significance of creating clinical practice guidelines appropriate for use by patients, clinicians, and other health care decision-makers around the world. Over the past 25 years, NCCN has developed an integrated suite of tools to improve the quality of cancer care. The NCCN Guidelines® document evidence-based, consensus-driven management to ensure that all patients receive preventive, diagnostic, treatment, and supportive services that are most likely to lead to optimal outcomes. The NCCN Guidelines are a comprehensive set of guidelines detailing the sequential management decisions and interventions that apply to 97 percent of cancer cases in the United States. In addition, separate guidelines relate to major prevention and screening topics and another set of pathways focuses on the major supportive care areas. The NCCN Guidelines provide recommendations based on the best evidence available at the time they are derived. Because new data are published continuously, it is essential that the NCCN Guidelines also be continuously updated and revised to reflect new data and new clinical information. The intent of the NCCN Guidelines is to assist in the decision-making process of individuals involved in cancer care—including physicians, nurses, pharmacists, payers, patients and their families—with the ultimate goal of improving patient care and outcomes. The NCCN Guidelines provide recommendations for appropriate care for most but not all patients; however, individual patient circumstances must be considered when applying these recommendations. Visit NCCN.org to learn more about the NCCN Guidelines as well as other NCCN Content.