Association of Community Cancer Centers Names New President: David R. Penberthy, MD, MBA

Washington, DC — David R. Penberthy, MD, MBA, was named president of the Association of Community Cancer Centers (ACCC) today at the Association’s 48th Annual Meeting and Cancer Center Business Summit (AMCCBS). Oncology professionals from around the nation gathered this week at AMCCBS to discuss the convergence of business, policy, and technology in cancer care. Addressing in-person and virtual meeting attendees, Dr. Penberthy detailed the goals for his 2022-2023 tenure, announcing his President’s Theme, “Leveraging Technology to Transform Cancer Care Delivery and the Patient Experience,” and highlighting the objectives within:

• Equitably leverage data and digital health tools to identify ways to reduce health disparities.
• Identify strategies to use technology to help mitigate workforce shortages and improve efficiency of care
• Advocate for equitable access to technology innovations and adequate reimbursement for their application in cancer care delivery
• Convene technology-driven change makers to share solutions and envision the future state of oncology driven by the patient experience.

For the next year, Dr. Penberthy will focus the organization’s efforts on identifying technology-driven solutions, like AI and patient wearables, to free up time for providers to focus more on patients; to alleviate workforce shortages; and to improve patient access by expanding telehealth in cancer care delivery. 

“The science of oncology is exploding and keeping up with all the information is a daunting task,” said Dr. Penberthy. “As oncology providers, we are exceptional at engaging with patients, and an opportunity exists to use technology, like AI-driven practice support tools and patient wearable devices, to free up our time so we are better able to focus on critical issues, such as shared medical decision making, improving care to underserved and marginalized patients, increasing clinical trial participation, and, most importantly, delivering person-centered care.”

Dr. Penberthy highlighted the opportunity to expand the role of health technologies in clinical trial participation, enhance the delivery of person-centered care, and improve care to underserved populations. As part of this theme, ACCC will host small-group virtual tech talks and other outreach to members to determine how they develop technology-driven solutions and then serve as a conduit to collect and disseminate this information through its robust portfolio of educational resources.

Dr. Penberthy is Medical Director of Radiation Oncology at Bon Secours, Southside Regional Medical Center (SRMC) in Petersburg, Virginia. He has also served as Cancer Committee Chairman at SRMC, where he led the oncology program through two American College of Surgeons Commission on Cancer accreditation surveys resulting in cancer program accreditation, each time earning an Outstanding Achievement Award. His career in medicine began with a surgical internship at Bethesda Naval Hospital and then service as a U.S. Navy Flight Surgeon with Fighter Squadron 101 in Oceana, Virginia.

Dr. Penberthy earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering from Virginia Tech and a Doctor of Medicine degree from Virginia Commonwealth University. His interest and knowledge in technology eventually led him to the field of Radiation Oncology.