ACCC Begins Testing Phase for Care Coordination Model to Address Disparities Faced by Medicaid Patients with Lung Cancer

Rockville, Md. — The Association of Community Cancer Centers (ACCC) is working to improve care for Medicaid patients with lung cancer through a three-year initiative focused on developing an optimal care coordination model (OCCM) for this population. Funding and support for this project is provided by a grant from the Bristol-Myers Squibb Foundation (BMSF). * The model is being developed in three phases.

Phase one, conducted throughout calendar year 2017, focused on research. Drawing on a literature review and environmental scan, extensive on-site information gathered at five cancer programs that served as Development Sites, and with the insight and guidance of the project’s Advisory Committee and Technical Expert Panel, ACCC developed a beta version of the care coordination model. The OCCM builds directly on the Multidisciplinary Care Assessment Tool created by the National Cancer Institute (NCI) Community Cancer Centers Program (NCCCP), a 2007-2014 NCI-funded initiative. The model, which is designed to be used at cancer programs of all resource levels, focuses on 13 areas of care for patients with lung cancer.

1. Patient Access to Care
2. Prospective Multidisciplinary Case Planning
3. Financial, Transportation, and Housing
4. Management of Comorbid Conditions
5. Care Coordination
6. Treatment Team Integration
7. Electronic Health Records (EHR) and Patient Access to Information
8. Survivorship Care
9. Supportive Care
10. Tobacco Cessation
11. Clinical Trials
12. Physician Engagement
13. Quality Measurement and Improvement

During the second phase, which will run through September 2017, ACCC is preparing to test the beta optimal care coordination model. To select Testing Sites, ACCC conducted a comprehensive, competitive application process. Seven ACCC member cancer programs from across the country have been selected to test the model by conducting quality improvement initiatives in one or more of the 13 OCCM assessment areas listed above:

• Cowell Family Cancer Center (Munson Healthcare) - Traverse City, MI
• Northwest Medical Specialties - Tacoma, WA
• Ascension Wheaton Franciscan Cancer Care - Milwaukee, WI
• Florida Hospital Memorial Medical Center - Daytona Beach, FL
• Genesis Cancer Care Center - Zanesville, OH
• Advocate Lutheran General Hospital Cancer Care Program - Park Ridge, IL
• Southern Ohio Medical Center - Portsmouth, OH

“Our care coordination model has evolved through the contributions and collaboration of ACCC member programs, as well as diverse stakeholders from both the oncology community and the wider healthcare community,” said Randall Oyer, MD, Oncology Program Medical Director, Lancaster General Hospital, and co-chair of the ACCC Optimal Care Coordination Model for Lung Cancer Patients on Medicaid project. “We thank those ACCC member programs serving as project Development Sites and as Testing Sites. Their participation is critical, ensuring first that real-world experience was incorporated in developing the model, and now in testing the OCCM through targeted quality improvement initiatives that have potential to improve patient care.”

Phase III, testing the model, will be conducted over a 12-month period, from October 2017-September 2018. Data and outcomes from this phase will be used to further refine and modify the OCCM to ensure that it is a practical, easy-to-use guide for cancer programs interested in advancing patient-centered, multidisciplinary, coordinated care for their lung cancer patients on Medicaid.

Learn more about development of the optimal care coordination model.

*Under the terms of the grant, programs in the following states were excluded from participation in this project: AL, GA, KY, MS, NC, TN, SC, and WV.