ACCC Center for Provider Education: Overview

ACCC's e–learning environment is designed to provide easy access to an array of timely oncology-related continuing education programs. The ACCC Blackboard includes programming from educational companies, covering a range of topics for nurses, pharmacists, and physicians. Formats vary from slide shows to virtual lectures to newsletters. Upon completion of the activity, simply submit your learning assessment and/or evaluation form online, as explained by the course provider.

In 2010 the Association of Community Cancer Centers distributed results and analysis of year 2 of its national "Cancer Care Trends in Community Cancer Centers" survey, which is designed to help cancer programs understand the implications of these trends and identify alternative and effective organizational adaptations.

ACCC examined and provided data on a number of vital issues, including:

• Infusion center space, nurse-to-patient staffing ratios in the infusion center, likelihood that cancer program patient volumes will increase as community oncologists reduce infusions
• Scope of cancer service line
• Consolidation
• Pharmacists' role
• Acuity system use and advantage in setting staffing levels
• EMR prevalence
• Use of new technologies and clinical technology capital budgets
• Use of reimbursement specialists and the effect on program financial health.

ACCC is examining the use of CPGs in the community oncology setting, as well as perceptions across disciplines about CPG adherence. With recent encouragement by the federal government, private insurers, and specialty societies, the use of CPGs is growing. Still, evidence exists that adherence to clinical practice guidelines in the community oncology setting is uneven. Moreover, perceptions vary between disciplines (physician, nurse, and pharmacist) about the use of CPGs, and whether each team member is fully engaged in CPG implementation.

The Association of Community Cancer Centers and Medscape Oncology have launched an online educational initiative that offers a community provider perspective about emerging data and treatment strategies presented at scientific meetings, such as those of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) and the American Society of Hematology (ASH).

In its "Dispensing Pharmacy: An Option for Physician Practices" project, ACCC seeks to provide insight into the decision-making process and challenges involved in setting up a dispensing pharmacy.

Educating the oncology community about the role of histology and molecular markers to guide diagnosis and treatment selection for patients with non-small cell lung cancer.

In 2009 ACCC launched "Cancer Care Patient Navigation: A Call to Action," a project designed to help community cancer centers develop, implement, and/or enhance their patient navigation programs by 1) identifying barriers to programmatic success, 2) increasing successful implementation of patient navigation services and refining staffing models, and 3) establishing effective metrics for measuring patient navigation services internally and for benchmarking patient navigation services against other community cancer centers. A webcast and educational materials for ACCC members are available.

The Center for Provider Education of the Association of Community Cancer Centers (ACCC) and ACCC's Oncology Pharmacy Education Network (OPEN) are pleased to present a UNIQUE WEBINAR SERIES for pharmacists, financial officers, and administrators who contribute to decisions about which drugs should be used for cancer patients. These webinars explore a practical approach to "pharmacoeconomics," which offers the opportunity for the pharmacy and financial teams to move past the short-term orientation of considering only cost in deciding which drugs to purchase.

In 2009 ACCC also launched its "Prostate Cancer Best Practices Project." Its goal: to identify best practices that ensure 1) a multidisciplinary approach to prostate cancer care, 2) open communication, and 3) patient access to state-of-the-art treatment within the community. ACCC provided its members with a webcast and educational materials designed to help them gain market share and provide patients with access to various provider specialists in a non-threatening, patient-focused environment.

The Association of Community Cancer Centers has launched a ground-breaking program to provide community-based cancer care providers the tools they need to improve the quality of care for patients with small-population cancers. This educational project will be initiated with a focus on chronic myeloid leukemia (CML).

ACCC's Center for Provider Education has focused on three critical components of multidisciplinary cancer care: cancer nutritional support, survivorship, and financial counseling to patients.

ACCC is studying the issue of care transition between the hospital cancer program and physician group practices. The goals are to 1) understand the challenges involved in transitioning cancer patients between care settings, 2) identify best practices for ensuring a smooth transition between the two care settings, and 3) provide educational materials and disseminate findings.