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Comprehensive Cancer Care Services

ACCC offers comprehensive cancer care resources that elevate the delivery of multidisciplinary treatment throughout all stages of the cancer care journey. Cancer care services that address the full spectrum of a patient’s needs—physical, nutritional, emotional, psychosocial, spiritual, and financial—have been found to greatly improve survivor’s quality of life and outcomes.

Empowering and providing support to family and caregivers can help relieve the stress and anxiety of a cancer diagnosis, which improves the physical and mental health of both patients and caregivers. Patient navigators can positively impact a patient’s overall treatment experience by making it more efficient, coordinated, and individually focused. And whether patients are recently diagnosed or have been undergoing cancer treatment for some time, those who create a comprehensive cancer care plan, are educated about their healthcare needs, and are involved in treatment decision-making have better outcomes.

Adolescent and Young Adult (AYA) Services

Oncology patients who are diagnosed between the ages of 15 to 39 often face delays in diagnosis, social and emotional issues, communication challenges with providers, and financial concerns.

Care Action Plans for People with Cancer

4R Care Sequences® are guideline-based care plans providers can use with their patients as a framework to support equitable and comprehensive care from diagnosis through survivorship. They are available to members at no cost.

Empowering Caregivers

People who care for family members or friends diagnosed with cancer often experience caregiver burden. To help alleviate this burden, caregivers should be considered as crucial members of the cancer care team.

Geriatric Oncology

As the number of Americans age 65 and older continues to increase, researchers estimate that 70 percent of cancers will be diagnosed in older adults by 2030.

Health Literacy

Given the increasing complexity of cancer diagnosis, treatment, and follow-up, health literacy has become an integral component of patient-centered care.

Nutrition

Proactively integrating nutrition services into cancer care can improve patient outcomes and quality of life, both during and after treatment.

Oncology Pharmacy

ACCC offers a number of educational resources specifically designed for oncology pharmacists and pharmacy staff, who are integral to the successful delivery of quality, cost-effective care for patients.

Patient Navigation

ACCC offers member-driven resources, including blog posts and journal articles, to help implement, assess, and expand patient navigation services.

Psychosocial Care in Oncology

Although an important aspect of cancer care, a patient’s psychosocial health needs are often left unmet. ACCC is seeking to help establish guidelines and accreditation standards for distress screening programs so they can become more universally integrated into patient treatment plans.

Shared Decision-Making

ACCC seeks to enhance the patient experience by offering members valuable resources to incorporate shared-decision making tools and models across their programs and practices.

Survivorship Care

ACCC provides the latest resources to ensure providers are integrating survivorship care plans into the continuum of care. This important aspect of the cancer journey is designed to meet the lifelong needs of those who have been diagnosed with cancer.

Comprehensive Cancer Care Services Matrix

Realizing the compelling need to better understand the current capacity and barriers to delivery of essential comprehensive cancer care services in community-based oncology programs, the Board of Trustees of the Association of Community Cancer Centers called for and supporting a survey of invited or representative membership. Survey findings will be used to provide baseline information to guide policy, advocacy, educational initiatives, and inform value-based payment reform discussions.

Read this message from ACCC President 2019-2020 Ali McBride, PharmD, MS, BCOP: A Prescription for Sustainable Cancer Care Delivery.

In 2019 ACCC launched a national Comprehensive Cancer Care Services Survey, outcomes of which were used to develop this tiered matrix of recommendations that cancer practices and programs of varying sizes and resource levels can use to benchmark and advocate for service line growth. Provision of these key services can elevate patient care and the patient experience; reduce healthcare costs; improve care coordination; and help differentiate your cancer program in your marketplace. Now we would like to gather member feedback on these recommendations. Download the matrix, share it with your team, and submit feedback on these recommendations to matrix@accc-cancer.org.

Download Matrix Acknowledgements

From the ACCCBuzz Blog

From Oncology Issues

  • Developing a Disease-Site Specific Oncology Patient Navigation Program
    By Stephanie Bonfilio
    Based on the understanding that patients diagnosed with cancer need unique support and resources, this community-based cancer program implemented and grew a disease-site specific oncology patient navigation program.
  • Human-Centered Design: A Possible Solution to Rural Clinical Trial Enrollment
    By Wade T Swenson, Emily Westergard, Zachary Schroeder, and Abigail Swenson
    Adopting a human-centered approach to designing clinical trials that considers the preferences and experiences of rural patients with cancer and providers could increase patient enrollment and close care gaps.
  • The Need for an Equitable Cancer Care Delivery System
    By Olalekan Ajayi, PharmD, MBA
    Despite scientific and medical advances, the incidence and mortality rates of cancer remain disproportionately high among certain populations. Understanding this, combatting the inequities that exist will be key to delivering next generation cancer care.

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