Meeting the Needs of Cancer Program Staff to Ultimately Improve Patient Outcomes

New CANCER BUZZ Podcast Just Released

Rockville, MD—Meeting the needs of cancer program staff to ultimately improve patient outcomes is at the heart of the presidential themes of the Association of Community Cancer Centers (ACCC) current and immediate past president. The topic is explored in the latest CANCER BUZZ podcast episode.

This week’s CANCER BUZZ episode features outgoing ACCC President, Krista Nelson, MSW, LCSW, OSW-C, FAOSW, diving into the past year’s programs and initiatives, many of which focused on the professional well-being of cancer program staff. Nelson, an oncology social worker, and Program Manager of Quality & Research, Cancer Support Services & Compassion, at the Providence Cancer Institute in Portland, OR, served at the helm of ACCC from March 2021 through March 2022, and guided the organization through initiatives that supported her theme,  “Real-World Lessons from COVID-19: Driving Oncology Care Forward.”

Nelson’s tenure, and the related ACCC programming, focused on three key lessons:

• Health equity and social justice are critical drivers of quality cancer care, and practice-based solutions are needed that reduce barriers and improve health outcomes.
• The escalating need for high reach, high impact psychosocial and supportive care services require innovative care delivery models that demonstrate measurable value to the oncology ecosystem.
• Strengthening a culture that supports professional well-being and resilience is essential to practice sustainability, and provider and patient satisfaction.

Nelson explained how provider well-being impacts patients, pointing out a study around palliative care and end of life conducted by William Pirl, MD, MPH, the Vice Chair for Psychosocial Oncology, in the Department of Psychosocial Oncology and Palliative Care at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.  “The study found that for physicians who were more burned out, [their] patients were more depressed. Now which caused which, we don't know. But if you take care of a group of patients who are more depressed, it's probably harder to come to work. And, if you have an oncologist who's burned out and stressed or a provider, a social worker, who isn't really listening, how does that make us feel as individuals?”

“So, the equation that we can control at ACCC—and that we can help provide education in—is how we support our providers,” added Nelson.

Also featured in the episode, newly-elected  ACCC President David R. Penberthy, MD, MBA, outlines his theme for the association over the next year, “Leveraging Technology to Transform Cancer Care Delivery and the Patient Experience.”

Penberthy, a radiation oncologist and Medical Director, Radiation Oncology, Bon Secours, Southside Regional Medical Center in Petersburg, VA, plans to focus on the following objectives over the next year:

• 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

“This is an exciting time in oncology. The science of oncology is completely expanding and exploding. And one of the challenges as a practicing oncologist is staying up to date with the latest, greatest treatment techniques,” said Penberthy.

Penberthy went on to share that ACCC is uniquely positioned to promote best practices in community and academic settings, and providers in all settings can leverage technology to improve both the patient and provider experience. Penberthy was named ACCC’s new president by his colleagues at ACCC’s 48th Annual Meeting and Cancer Center Business Summit in March. A recap of that educational programming can be found on ACCC’s website.

CANCER BUZZ is an award-winning audio podcast series that dives into emergent issues in oncology, including health equity, COVID-19 care modifications, precision medicine and novel treatments, telehealth, financial navigation, payment models, supportive services, geriatric care, and more. Each episode is designed to deliver timely information to busy cancer care providers quickly and in a mobile format. CANCER BUZZ is available on all major streaming audio platforms, including Apple Podcasts, Google, Spotify and smart speakers simply by asking Alexa to “play the latest CANCER BUZZ podcast”.