ACCC Updates Financial Advocacy Services Guidelines

In 2018, ACCC drafted Financial Advocacy Services Guidelines to support cancer programs and practices by helping them proactively address patients’ financial concerns within and beyond their treatment. These guidelines were developed with the input and guidance of the 2018 ACCC Financial Advocacy Network Advisory Committee and individual financial advocates working on the frontlines.

ACCC’s Financial Advocacy Services Guidelines offer much-needed standardization for cancer programs and practices across the nation looking to implement or enhance a formal financial advocacy program. All multidisciplinary cancer care team members—including financial advocates, patient navigators, social workers, pharmacists, and other clinicians—play critical roles in helping reduce financial toxicity for patients with cancer. Financial advocacy services are necessary to help individual cancer programs and practices identify and address each patient’s needs along the spectrum of cancer care. These services can also help ensure all patients have equitable access to high-quality care regardless of demographics such as race, ethnicity, and insurance status. By adding financial advocacy services to your program’s or practice’s comprehensive supportive care offerings, you will be better able to meet your patients’ psychosocial needs, enabling them to focus on their health and well-being.

A New Focus for 2022

In response to the ever-changing landscape of healthcare and financial advocacy, the ACCC Financial Advocacy Network is collaborating this year with its partners, the Academy of Oncology Nurse & Patient Navigators and the National Patient Advocate Foundation, to update ACCC’s Financial Advocacy Services Guidelines. The revised guidelines will define the essential financial advocacy services that cancer programs and practices of any size should offer their patients and their families. ACCC will use a consensus-based method to ensure the final guidelines are informed and agreed upon by subject matter experts in cancer care.

ACCC is currently seeking nominations for individuals to join a panel of experts and participate in a consensus-based process to update the Financial Advocacy Guidelines to reflect current needs. These individuals can be dedicated oncology financial advocacy staff, multidisciplinary cancer care team members, community-based financial advocates, subject matter experts, and/or patients and patient advocates. If you would like to be part of this important effort, you can nominate yourself or a colleague to be considered for this panel by completing this intake form. ACCC seeks to include individuals from many perspectives to help ensure the new guidelines meet the needs of patients with cancer and the programs and practices that treat them.