Quality Improvement Collaboration: Integration of Precision Medicine in Community Oncology

Research shows that throughout the precision oncology care pathway, many patients eligible for personalized treatments disengage or are not successfully retained at multiple stages. In non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), for example, key barriers include delayed or missed biomarker testing, initiation of treatment before test results are complete, incomplete biomarker assessments, and lack of action on test results. While these issues are prevalent in NSCLC, they extend across all solid tumors.

With the expanding availability of targeted therapies, clinical trials, and evolving biomarker testing guidelines, community clinicians face significant challenges in staying current with these advances and making evidence-based treatment decisions.

In the US, approximately 80% of cancer patients receive care from community oncologists, who manage diverse cancer types and large patient volumes. Insights from previous ACCC educational programs reveal that clinicians are often overwhelmed by the rapid influx of new information on cancer therapies. This information overload underscores the need for targeted education on novel treatments, updated clinical guidelines, biomarker testing, quality improvement strategies, and enhanced healthcare delivery practices.

To address this need, Eli Lilly and Company, in collaboration with ACCC, has awarded seven sites up to $150,000 in funding for their accepted proposals, each outlining how they will drive measurable improvements along the precision oncology pathway—focused on reducing care gaps for patients with solid tumors.

Congratulations to the following awardees:

• Northside Hospital, Inc.
• Parkview Hospital, Inc.
• Sanford Health
• The Queenʻs Medical Center
• Thomas Jefferson University
• University of Alabama at Birmingham
• University of Washington

For more information on this program, please contact the ACCC Provider Education department.