Association of Community Cancer Centers Announces 2022 Innovator Award Winner, The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center – James Cancer Hospital and Solove Research Institute

Rockville, MD—The Association of Community Cancer Centers (ACCC) announced today that The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center – Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Richard J. Solove Research Institute  (OSUCCC – James) in Columbus, Ohio, is a recipient of a 2022 ACCC Innovator Award. This award recognizes the hospital’s advanced practice provider-led rapid access diagnostic clinic that is expediting the evaluation of patients with a sign or symptom concerning for cancer and linking patients to  anti-cancer treatment for those  diagnosed with the disease.

During the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic, the OSUCCC – James opened a new set of virtual front doors to its facility—The James Cancer Diagnostic Center—ensuring that all patients had rapid access to specialized cancer evaluation – in person or virtually. Key to this effort’s success was  defiing clear diagnostic clinic testing strategies and aligning results with the information their oncologists or specialists need to begin effective treatment planning.

“We wanted to ensure all patients with a concern for cancer could be quickly evaluated, even if they didn’t have a confirmed diagnosis. We are now able to rapidly evaluate patients in person or virtually, get the needed testing, and then refer patients to the appropriate subspecialist in a timely manner,” explains Raquel Reinbolt, MD, medical director of the James Cancer Diagnostic Center at the OSUCCC - James.

For patients, this offers a single, centralized source within the cancer hospital to coordinate necessary testing and compile medical reports that can be delivered to the treating physician to help guide and implement care.

“We want to do all the necessary diagnostic evaluation, make that pathologic diagnosis or whatever confirmation test is required, and serve it in a nicely wrapped package to our specialist, so they're not having to spend time on the diagnostic process,” explains Dr. Reinbolt. “Instead, our cancer experts are able to focus on developing a treatment plan and getting that patient to treatment as rapidly as possible.”

Erin Heuser, senior process engineer at OSUCCC – James, will share more about the diagnostic center, including how its team members were identified to run the clinic and what success has been realized since implementation, this fall. Learn more about this program on the ACCCBuzz blog and CANCER BUZZ podcast, then register to attend the National Oncology Conference this October 12-14 in West Palm Beach, Fla.

To learn more about The James Cancer Diagnostic Center, visit cancer.osu.edu/diagnosticcenter.