I Am An Oncologist

In this article, the authors discuss revisions to the Optimal Care Coordination Model following beta testing to develop the final version, rationale for significant revisions, and nationwide dissemination of the Model.

Patients with cancer who face transportation barriers often find themselves at a crossroads: They must either continue to piece together various forms of assistance to try to complete a treatment regimen and protocol or throw in the towel altogether. Instead of reacting to patients’ needs after they fall out of compliance with their specified treatment, we pledged to proactively offer and find transportation assistance that meets all patient needs.

With disparate breast cancer outcomes, lack of messages of hope, and limited available support for Black women, Rev. Tammie and her late sister were inspired to co-found Carrie’s TOUCH in 2006.

One of the ways in which community oncology is helping to close gaps in cancer research is through participation in the National Cancer Institute Community Oncology Research Program clinical trials. The Lahey Health Cancer Institute, a part of the Beth Israel Lahey Health System, continues to expand access to clinical trials and, in particular, the NCI National Clinical Trials Network into the community by partnering with affiliated community hospitals.

Dr. Vijay Rao and Dr. Eric Stephen Rubenstein returned from a Global Cardio-Oncology Society meeting g with the realization that they could do much more to protect patients with cancer from potential cardiac toxicity of chemotherapy. The two shared one goal: to prevent the cancer survivor of today from becoming the heart failure patient of tomorrow.

Rather than fielding its annual Trending Now in Cancer Care survey while cancer programs were experiencing unprecedented challenges due to the extended public health emergency, ACCC chose to facilitate conversations with its members to capture the lived experiences of the most pertinent issues impacting oncology practice and care delivery.

Oncology Issues sat down with Dr. Schilsky to look back on his career and look forward to future research breakthroughs in this era of COVID-19 and beyond.

It is well documented, even beyond Tennessee Oncology's OCM experience, that patients with cancer generally have some type of hospital-related costs during their disease treatment. Understanding the impact of these real-time alerts and data, Tennessee Oncology formed a Care Transformation Team with the focus of addressing admissions in real time, as well as follow-up care for discharges.

As the senior director of cancer services at Spectrum Health Lakeland in St. Joseph, Mich., I led a breakout session at the 37th [Virtual] ACCC National Oncology Conference in September 2020, where I shared tips for effective and positive leadership in oncology. The first step to becoming an effective leader is to understand the type of leader you are—even if you hold an informal leadership position.

Over the last several months, ACCC members have experienced a rising trend of payer-mandated white and brown bagging. ACCC will continue to monitor and update members about issues related to white and brown bagging.

In 2016, the Association of Community Cancer Centers (ACCC) initiated a three-year multiphase project to develop an Optimal Care Coordination Model (OCCM) for Medicaid patients with lung cancer that would help assess and strengthen care delivery systems by facilitating and expanding access to multidisciplinary coordinated care.

This next year, as we emerge out of COVID-19’s shadow and into a landscape that has been forever altered by the worldwide pandemic, it is important that we reflect on what we witnessed this past year—not only the suffering but the “wins.”

Oncologists may not be on the frontline taking care of patients with COVID-19 in intensive care units or emergency departments, but we do have the chance to advocate for vaccination to win the race against this deadly virus.

Due to radiation oncology’s focus on disease, palliative radiation therapy often involves lengthier courses than necessary and extended wait times, posing financial and logistical challenges for patients. Mount Sinai Hospital’s Department of Radiation Oncology and the Tisch Cancer Institute established a specialized service model to increase the use of short-course radiation treatments, reduce the lengths of hospital stay, and improve access to palliative care services.

Multi-site, integrated health care systems have a unique opportunity to provide patient-centered care on a large scale. Discover how Aurora Cancer Care improved their quality of care through subspecialization, consistent care processes, and more.

Before we can precisely characterize a disease, prescribe targeted medicine, and track therapy progress, we need to find a better way to order tests, store results, and share information. Read how Sylvester Cancer Center in Miami did just that by integrating precision medicine data into its electronic health record (EHR).

The ACCC education project, “Virtual Molecular Tumor Boards,” examines how innovative formats can help ensure that communication and quality patient care standards are maintained across cancer programs.

ASCO 2017 was filled with new information and long lines as 39,000 oncologists worldwide came together to hear the latest advances in cancer care.