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About CQCO

The Cancer Quality Council of Ontario (CQCO) is an advisory group that guides Cancer Care Ontario and the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care in their efforts to improve the quality of cancer care in the province.

We also monitor and publicly report on the performance of the cancer system, and provide international comparisons and benchmarking so Ontario can learn from other jurisdictions.

Our areas of focus

  • Health outcomes: cancer incidence, prevalence, mortality, detection by stage, treatment outcomes, survival and overall health burden
  • Efficiency indicators: access, coverage of target population, waiting times, unit costs, length-of-stay and human resources
  • Patient satisfaction

Our partners

To fulfill our mandate, we collaborate with many partners throughout the province, including these organizations:

  • Hospitals and other cancer service providers
  • Institute for Clinical and Evaluative Sciences
  • Canadian Institute for Health Information
  • Program in Evidence-Based Care
  • Joint Policy and Planning Committee

Our history

The Cancer Quality Council of Ontario was established in 2002 by the minister of Health and Long-Term Care, based on a recommendation of the Cancer Services Implementation Committee.

A quasi-independent body, and the first of kind in Canada, the CQCO was given a mandate to monitor and report publicly on cancer system performance, and to make recommendations for targeted quality improvement to the minister of Health and Long-Term Care via Cancer Care Ontario’s Board of Directors.