ASCCP Colposcopy Standards: Colposcopy Quality Improvement Recommendations for the United States

Objectives The American Society for Colposcopy and Cervical Pathology (ASCCP) Colposcopy Standards recommendations address the role of and approach to colposcopy and biopsy for cervical cancer prevention in the United States. The recommendations were developed by an expert working group appointed by ASCCP's Board of Directors. The ASCCP Quality Improvement Working Group developed evidence-based guidelines to promote best practices and reduce errors in colposcopy and recommended indicators to measure colposcopy quality. Materials and Methods The working group performed a systematic review of existing major society and national guidelines and quality indicators. An initial list of potential quality indicators was developed and refined through successive iterative discussions, and draft quality indicators were proposed. The draft recommendations were then reviewed and commented on by the entire Colposcopy Standards Committee, posted online for public comment, and presented at the International Federation for Cervical Pathology and Colposcopy 2017 World Congress for further comment. All comments were considered, additional adjustments made, and the final recommendations approved by the entire Task Force. Results Eleven quality indicators were selected spanning documentation, biopsy protocols, and time intervals between index screening tests and completion of diagnostic evaluation. Conclusions The proposed quality indicators are intended to serve as a starting point for quality improvement in colposcopy at a time when colposcopy volume is decreasing and individual procedures are becoming technically more difficult to perform.