Returning to Practice in the Post-COVID-19 Era: Hematology Disease Education

One year into the pandemic, we have moved from apprehension about the impact of COVID-19 on cancer diagnosis and treatment to concern about how cancer programs should resume full practice as the pandemic recedes. The pandemic has led to sharp drops in cancer screenings and diagnoses, and it has interrupted the ongoing treatment of many existing patients. Subsequently, some in oncology are apprehensive of a second healthcare crisis when clinics fully re-open and providers are faced with patients whose disease may have been poorly monitored due to COVID-19 restrictions.

Given the discrete regional impacts of COVID-19 and locally based vaccination efforts, cancer programs across the country are in different phases of recovery, transitioning from acute care to chronic response. The long-term impact of COVID-19 is unknown, making it necessary for cancer practices to prepare for multiple potential scenarios in the near and distant future and to gauge how those scenarios may affect different patients and their care. This project will teach multidisciplinary cancer care teams about what they should anticipate as vaccinations slowly make it possible for them to resume pre-pandemic services—specifically for patients with hematologic malignancies including chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), acute myeloid leukemia (AML), and multiple myeloma (MM).

To accomplish this effort, ACCC hosted a webinar in which hematologic malignancy experts from various regions across the U.S. in different stages of recovery planning discussed considerations for patients with hematologic malignancies as the pandemic declines. The webinar was followed by three video podcasts juxtaposing expert faculty members from regionally diverse cancer programs to highlight differential practice implications arising from the pandemic.

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