ACCCBUZZ BLOG

The enormous out-of-pocket cost difference between well-covered traditional chemotherapies and often-uncovered oral oncolytics can result in levels of financial toxicity from which many patients struggle to return. To address this issue, the U.S. House of Representatives has this year reintroduced the Cancer Parity Act, which seeks to resolve unequal cost-sharing for oral oncolytics.

Noble experts make some of the best teachers who often do their work in the trenches, consistently performing with humility and compassion. Their influence extends beyond the workplace into both their own lives and the lives of others, and often into history. In this blog, Robin Atkins, RN, OCN, remembers The James River Clinic and its noble experts.

Led by the Colorado Pharmacists Society and the sponsorship of Colorado state senators Faith Winter and Joann Ginal and Representatives Dylan Roberts and David Ortiz, Senate Bill 94 was signed into law June 24, 2021 by Colorado Governor Jared Polis, greatly expanding the scope of practice for state pharmacy professionals. Read how the expansion of collaborative practice agreements under the new legislation can enhance oncology patient care in several key ways.

August 1 marks World Lung Cancer Day. Long at the forefront of teaching multidisciplinary cancer care teams about how to best implement new and evolving lung cancer therapies into their programs and practices, ACCC shares several of its current initiatives to promote optimal lung cancer care delivery.

ACCC worked with members of the ACCC Financial Advocacy Network to provide guidance on how to help patients access much-need financial assistance regardless of their insurance status. Here, a financial navigator at Kettering Cancer Care in Kettering, Ohio, discusses how to help patients afford their cancer care if they are uninsured or underinsured and if they are eligible to participate in their state’s Medicaid program.

Palliative care services are an important element of comprehensive cancer care. However, patients are not usually introduced to palliative care providers until their services are needed. Read how Cancer Care Associates of York—a community-based private practice in York, Penn.—is changing this by identifying high-risk patients suitable for palliative interventions up front and allowing patients to access palliative care services as early as possible.

Cone Health Cancer Center—a 2021 ACCC Innovator Award winner—is fighting for health equity by addressing the barriers to care that unequally affect lower-resourced communities in the rural and urban setting of Greensboro, N.C. Learn how the cancer center has built a transportation program that provides free round-trip rides to all patients from their homes to their medical appointments.

Beginning January 2022, CMS will be required to cover for Medicaid patients the routine costs associated with participating in clinical trials. Learn what states and provider organizations can do to leverage this mandate to address barriers to care in the community and reduce inequities in clinical trial participation.

Through a partnership with Albuquerque Ambulance Service, a local community paramedic group that is a division of Presbyterian Healthcare Services, Presbyterian enables qualifying patients with cancer access to certain clinical interventions and wellness checks in their homes from a specialized paramedicine oncology team. The goal of the program is to reduce patient utilization of the ED and reduce inpatient admissions by addressing some patients’ treatment-related symptoms at home.

The COVID-19 pandemic posed many new complications for cancer programs and practices across the United States. To keep COVID-19-positive patients with cancer out of the hospital where they could potentially infect others, Inova Schar Cancer Institute in Fairfax, Va., implemented remote patient monitoring technology to continually track patients’ vitals while they are at home and in between their outpatient treatments.

When a patient presents for care in an emergency department (ED), unexpected issues unrelated to their chief complaint may be flagged. To help patients better navigate our complex healthcare system after receiving news of an incidental finding during an ED visit, the Vanderbilt University Medical Center Adult ED and Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center partnered to follow-up with these patients after their discharge to help them initiate the appropriate follow-up care.

“State legislators play a significant role when it comes to health insurance oversight, regulation, and innovation.” – National Council of State Legislatures. Learn how oncology state societies are advocating for greater access to fertility preservation services for patients with cancer, including insurance coverage for these services.

Financial toxicity in oncology is a long-standing issue for patients with cancer. As increasing costs related to cancer care put financial strain on patients, so too do the indirect costs of a cancer diagnosis and treatment—travel, childcare, and other daily living needs. Learn how 2021 ACCC Innovator Award winner Dr. Lauren Hamel at Wayne State University School of Medicine; Karmanos Cancer Institute has set out to address current trends in treatment-related cost discussions between patients and their care team members through a mobile app to make these conversations a vital part of patients’ treatment plans.

“I had difficulty trusting providers enough to seek the care that I needed. When my partner saw something unusual on my back and I had to try a new dermatologist, I had to be dragged kicking and screaming to his office,” says Scout, PhD, MA, executive director of the National LGBT Cancer Network. Learn more about the needs of LGBTQ patients and how you can help create a safe, inclusive space.

Knowing what co-pay assistance each patient needs and where to find it—often in short order—is key to successfully securing funding and ultimately enabling access to necessary treatment. These four key steps can help financial advocates obtain patients co-pay, premium, or travel assistance from independent patient foundations.

Effective patient education helps patients better understand their diagnoses and participate in shared decision-making with their providers. Douglas Holt, MD, chief resident of radiation oncology at the University of Colorado Cancer Center, UCHealth-Oncology Services, is taking patient education to the next level: virtual reality.

Upon assuming my role in Baptist Health’s new oncology service line, I knew it was essential for me to continue strengthening my relationships with the physicians and leadership at the nine Baptist hospitals across Kentucky and Southern Indiana, says ACCC Board Member Amanda Henson, MSHA, MBA, FACHE. Learn how she achieved clinical, operational, and financial efficiencies to facilitate reliable, quality patient care across all sites while in her role.

On June 1, 2021, the Governor of Louisiana signed legislation that banned “white bagging” in the state, ensuring that health insurers cannot refuse to pay for approved physician-administered drugs and related services to covered patients. It is the first such law in the United States.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration's Oncology Center of Excellence, Project Community, has designated June 17 to June 23 as National Black Family Cancer Awareness Week. The week coincides with Juneteenth—an important date in our nation’s history that marks and celebrates the end of slavery in the United States. By participating in the #BlackFamCan social media effort, ACCC is building support and sharing knowledge with key stakeholders about the importance of including Black patients in cancer clinical trials and genetic databases for oncology research to improve access and effect change in cancer care delivery.

The delivery of the right treatment to the right patient at the right time is a hallmark of quality care. Step therapy applied to oncology can needlessly and dangerously derail a patient's care.

This is the first post in the blog series, “Notes on Nursing,” in which Robin Atkins shares her thoughts about her career as an oncology nurse. Here, she talks about not only why she became an oncology nurse, but also why she chooses to STAY a nurse.

“For me, this experience was excellent, and I felt prepared with the preparation ACCC offered,” said Jared Kast, RT(T), MHA. The successful ACCC Virtual Hill Day—held May 12, 2021—brought together ACCC members and state lawmakers. Learn more about what issues were discussed and members' experiences in this new virtual format.

In March, the Wisconsin legislature passed the 2021 Wisconsin Act 9 with overwhelming bipartisan support. Enactment of this PBM reform legislation establishes, for the first time, PBM oversight in Wisconsin.

No one disputes the need to rein in U.S. healthcare costs. However, for patients with cancer and the providers who care for them, the increasing burden of prior authorizations, step therapy requirements, and the lack of transparency regarding certain PBM business practices add on costs. Find out what advocates in Tennessee are doing to enact reform at the state level.

May is Skin Cancer Awareness Month! Learn how the Cancer Support Community's patient guides help patient health literacy and promote shared decision-making.

ACCC recently released its 2020 Trending Now in Cancer Care report, an annual initiative that seeks to identify current and emerging trends in cancer practices and programs across the country.

This is the first of a monthly blog series on how the author created a streamlined oncology service line within her health system to help improve clinical outcomes across all sites.

Each May, Bladder Cancer Awareness Month helps highlight the facts about bladder cancer, promote awareness about the disease, and call for more investment in research, treatment, and care. This year’s theme emphasizes the importance promoting conversations about bladder cancer and its symptoms, treatments, and management.

The Pharmacy and Medically Underserved Areas Enhancement Act would give Medicare beneficiaries living in medically underserved communities access to patient care services delivered by their state-licensed pharmacists. ACCC spoke with APhA's Dr. Scott Knoer to learn more about this legislation and how it can help patients.