[Abstract #96] Identifying Obstacles to Optimal Integration of Cancer Immunotherapies in the Community Setting

Latha Shivakumar PhD1 , Christine Weldon MBA2 , Ali McBride, PharmD, MS, BCOP3 , Igor Puzanov, MD, MSCI, FACP4 , Joanne Riemer, RN, MSN5 , Matthew Zibelman, MD6 , and Leigh Boehmer, PharmD, BCOP1 .

1Association of Cancer Care Centers, Rockville, MD, 2Northwestern University, Chicago, IL,
3The University of Arizona Cancer Center, Tucson, AZ,
4Roswel Park Cancer Institute, Buffalo, NY,
5Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore, MD,
6Fox Chase Cancer Center, Philadelphia, PA

Rapidly expanding indications and new approvals for cancer immunotherapies pose significant challenges to integrating this new class of agents into practice for community clinicians. They need guidance around the practical issues that must be addressed before implementing immunotherapy safely and effectively to patients in community-based cancer programs. The Association of Cancer Care Centers (ACCC) initiated a quality improvement (QI) research study to assess the impact of comprehensive educational interventions targeting the multidisciplinary cancer care team on evidence-based integration of immunotherapies in the community.

The overall goal of this research study is to identify barriers to optimal integration of cancer immunotherapies and to assess the impact of educational interventions on the integration of immunotherapies for treating cancer in the community.