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ACCC 39th Annual National Meeting
With a focus on business, economics, and policy, this meeting gave attendees insight on how best to continue to ensure access to quality care in the face of unprecedented challenges. Read on for meeting highlights.
"Healthcare will change more in this decade than it did in the last 50 years," keynote speaker Jeffrey Bauer, PhD, told attendees. Bauer, a health futurist and medical economist, forecast that by 2015, 30% of all healthcare entities will cease to exist as currently organized; 45% will exist as currently organized, but precariously; and 25% will thrive by changing the way healthcare is delivered. "One theme I hear everywhere," he said, “is that the biggest revolution we will see over the next two years is a shift from fee for service to value-based payment [quality].” Bauer identified four key trends that will shape the possibilities on the road to quality care. Read our blog to learn more.
"Distress should be the 6th vital sign. It's part of total cancer care," said Jimmie Holland, MD, ACCC Annual Achievement Award recipient. Internationally recognized as the founder of the subspecialty of psycho-oncology, Dr. Holland is the Wayne E. Chapman Chair in Psychiatric Oncology at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. "In recent years there’s been a real movement forward in terms of patient-centered care," she said in her acceptance remarks. "A change, a tipping point, has been reached. We can look forward to much more interest in supportive care."
Thursday morning's panel on "What a Continually Divided Congress Means for Healthcare" discussed what to expect from Congress in the coming months. Pictured are panel moderator (on L) Matt Farber, ACCC; panelists (L to R) Sydney Abbott, ACCC; Joseph M. Hill, American Society of Health-System Pharmacists; and Cara Tenenbaum, Esq., Ovarian Cancer National Alliance. Panelists discussed the likelihood of healthcare-related bills being passed in 2013, particularly those relating to drug shortages and track and trace. While panelists disagreed about how optimistic we should be about the likelihood of Congress's hyperpartisanship waning in the near future, all agreed that, "At a certain point political differences will have to take a back seat to real problems people are facing."
A second panel discussion on Thursday morning focused on "Rational vs. Rationed Care," debating how to balance the imperative to deliver personalized cancer care with the necessity to reduce healthcare costs. For a summary, read our blog.
Friday began with the House of Delegates, ACCC's official business meeting, during which the 2012-2013 Annual Report was distributed and the results of the election of new officers and trustees were announced. Outgoing president George Kovach, MD, passed the metaphoric baton to incoming president Virginia T. Vaitones, MSW, OSW-C, the first oncology social worker to serve in the role. For more highlights from this year's House of Delegates meeting and the full roster of ACCC's 2013-2014 Board of Trustees, read our blog.
At Friday's luncheon, Patrick J. Flynn, MD, was presented with ACCC's David King Community Clinical Scientist Award for his outstanding service, leadership, and commitment to the oncology community. Dr. Flynn received the award for his efforts to increase clinical trial accruals. Under his leadership as director of research, Minnesota Oncology Hematology, PA, and medical director Autologous Bone Marrow and Stem Cell Transplant at Abbott-Northwestern Hospital, clinical trial accrual has risen from 50 to 500 patients per year, achieving success through a consortium of physicians, clinics, and hospitals that cover the entire metropolitan Twin Cities and beyond.
Continuing Education Accreditation
Upon completion of this meeting, participants will be able to:
- Understand the trends in cancer care, including personalized therapy, changes to traditional reimbursement, genomic testing, virtual cancer centers, and integration of quality measures into clinical practice.
- Understand the trends in cancer care, including personalized therapy, changes to traditional reimbursement, genomic testing, virtual cancer centers, and integration of quality measures into clinical practice.
- Identify challenges to meeting new Commission on Cancer standards and gain tools to best implement new requirements for navigation, survivorship, and clinical trials accrual.
- Understand how oncologists can incorporate new therapies in a responsible manner.
- Learn how improving quality care in small population cancers has led to the development of effective practices.
- Understand the advantages of genomic testing over traditional breast cancer tumor assessment methods.
- Understand how to balance offering cutting edge technology in radiation oncology with costs.
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