Author(s):
The NCCN held a policy summit dedicated to exploring strategies to improve collaboration between primary care providers and oncologists to promote better patient outcomes.
Care coordination among primary care providers (PCPs) and oncologists is a key component of providing high-quality cancer care. Yet patients, providers, payers, and patient advocates agree: This coordination remains an ongoing challenge. To address this gap, the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) held a policy summit on May 6, 2025, dedicated to exploring strategies to improve collaboration between PCPs and oncologists to promote better patient outcomes.
Read part 1 of this blog series for the recap of the morning panel discussion on strengthening collaboration between primary care and oncology, along with a keynote address from Elizabeth Fowler, JD, PhD, distinguished scholar of Health Policy & Management at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and former director of the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation at CMS.
Building on themes explored earlier in the day, afternoon sessions of the summit shifted the focus to the policy landscape. Attendees heard from Kim Schrier, MD, US House of Representatives (WA-08), who provided insights into the role of health policy in supporting care coordination. As the first pediatrician elected to Congress, Dr. Schrier uses her clinical background to advocate for changes in health care policy with patients in mind. “You can make more of a difference when you advocate for kids across the entire country than just those in your exam room,” she commented.
Input from providers is vital to Dr. Schrier’s work on the Hill addressing larger systemic issues that make access to care difficult for certain patient populations. A common problem she hears from clinicians is the “woefully inadequate” reimbursement to physicians and hospitals for Medicare and Medicaid. These programs help all patients, regardless of enrollment, by encouraging retention of physicians, increasing access to primary care, and shortening emergency department wait times. “By strengthening primary care access and affordability, we can keep patients healthy and screen for and catch serious illnesses like cancer sooner than would otherwise be possible,” Dr. Schrier explained.
Although this chapter of her career is focused on policy, Dr. Schrier keeps physicians and patients top of mind as she drafts bills and advocates for her constituents. In closing, she reminded the audience, “Never forget the importance of that forged-over-years patient-physician relationship and the support that one’s trusted primary care physician can provide in challenging times.”
The summit concluded with a final panel discussion that brought together 5 professionals from across the spectrum of health care to discuss the role of public policy in facilitating partnerships between primary care and cancer centers. From the outset, the panelists made it clear that successful collaboration is not just a 2-way street between PCPs and oncologists: There is a whole network of patients, caregivers, navigators, advocates, and policy makers who need to be engaged to ensure optimal patient outcomes.
The necessity of human connection among all stakeholders was a common thread of the discussion. Several panelists described witnessing a shift in recent decades away from primary care and toward a more “transactional” relationship with health care. Today, many patients, especially young adults, only visit the doctor when they discover a serious health problem. This behavior not only makes screening and prevention more difficult, but it also means patients are less likely to develop strong, trusting relationships with their PCPs.
“We cannot forget about the importance of human communication,” said David Garcia, PhD, FACSM, associate professor of health promotion sciences at the University of Arizona, director of the Zuckerman Family Center for Prevention and Health Promotion, and director of Nosotros Comprometidos a Su Salud. “Advances in health care, whether technology or policy, only work if they account for the social context of the lived experience.”
Another shared desire among panelists was a change in pay models for primary care. Stephanie Quinn, senior vice president of external affairs and practice experience at the American Academy of Family Physicians, said, “The construct of how health care is financed really runs counter to the goals of primary care.” Payment systems are based on incidents and encounters with providers, but Quinn described the “secret sauce” of primary care as more centered around population health and prevention. It is much harder to assign value to incidents that never happened because of the work of PCPs.
Larissa Nekhlyudov, MD, MPH, general internist/primary care physician at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute/Brigham and Women’s Hospital, seconded Dr. Schrier’s suggestion of increasing physician reimbursements. Although this money often goes to the health system or facility rather than directly to the provider, higher reimbursement per patient may reduce the number of patients physicians are required to see in a day, lightening their load and mitigating burnout.
To enact these changes, Asal Sayas, former White House senior advisor on Health Outcomes and Cancer, encouraged communication with Congress, whether remotely or on the Hill. Members of Congress from both parties are affected by cancer, and so are their constituents. All stakeholders across the health care landscape carry weight in encouraging policy change, even in the face of political pressure. “Members of Congress have to answer to their constituents,” Sayas reminded the audience. “They don’t always have to answer to the White House.”
The panel concluded with discussions on adapting to recent significant changes in the health care landscape, including Robert F. Kennedy Jr’s Make America Healthy Again campaign. Panelists were divided on their opinions, succinctly captured by Dr. Garcia’s comment, “There’s a lot of chaos, but there’s a lot of optimism.”
Candice Roth, MSN, RN, CENP, executive director of the Academy of Oncology Nurse & Patient Navigators, suggested leveraging this momentum to create positive policy change. However, several panelists noted concerns with research funding cuts, noting there is only so much that can be done to combat cancer without support for all facets of the field of oncology. Roth reminded the audience that although primary care is important, “The majority of cancers cannot be prevented through lifestyle change.”
Artificial intelligence (AI) in health care was a similarly divided topic. The panel expressed a mix of cautious optimism and apprehension. Dr. Garcia saw a clear future where AI will be part of the collaborative care team, while Sayas cautioned that AI tools are only as useful and accurate as the models they are made from. Quinn suggested the best way forward is to assess the needs of health care providers and build tools to fill those gaps rather than trying to fit existing AI tools into functioning systems.
The health care landscape is constantly evolving. Whether through fast technological advances like AI or slow, incremental policy changes to billing systems, providers must be prepared to adapt, advocate, and lead with compassion for their patients. The insights gathered from experts at the NCCN Policy Summit illustrate that the way forward must involve prioritizing the patient-provider human connection, advocating for patient-centered policy reform, and creating a model of shared accountability for all facets of health care.
