ACCC: The “How-To” Organization

In 2021, the Center to Advance Palliative Care (CAPC) Project Equity workgroup set out to better understand disparities in health care experiences and quality of life for Black people living with serious illness through a comprehensive literature review. CAPC findings supported what most of us already knew:

• Black patients living with serious illness receive poorer quality pain management from their health care provider.
• Non-pain symptom management provided to Black patients living with serious illness is worse than that for White patients.
• Black patients with serious illness report poor-quality clinician-patient relationships and communication.
• Black patients frequently incur higher medical costs during the course of serious illness.

Also not surprising is that CAPC found that there are far more articles “focused on establishing evidence of disparities between Black and White patients than on understanding their root causes” and that further research was needed to understand what could be done at the patient, provider, health system, and society levels to remove barriers to care and reduce disparities.

I cannot help but draw a parallel between these statements and recent discussions from the member-driven task force planning the ACCC 51st Annual Meeting & Cancer Center Business Summit (AMCCBS). “We are all familiar with the challenges impacting the oncology workforce,” an AMCCBS task force member shared on a call. “We don't need another session regurgitating the problems that exist. We need solutions that are in place today.” This statement illustrates a theme across other areas of member interest, including health equity, precision medicine, and research and clinical trials. ACCC members know the challenges; they need real-world solutions to help remove or mitigate these challenges.

Fortunately, ACCC has a long history as the how-to organization for the multidisciplinary cancer care team, meaning the organization develops education and resources on how to make improvements and not just what needs to improve. A perfect example is the education and resources developed by the 2024 ACCC Innovator Award winners.

We know what our patients want and that is to receive care in the communities where they live and to not have to travel to receive cutting-edge treatments. Munson Healthcare, Cowell Family Cancer Center in Traverse City, Michigan, shows us how to meet this need with a model for implementing bispecific T-cell engager therapy at a community cancer program.

We know what we need to do to improve outcomes for patients with pancreatic cancer and that is to identify these patients earlier in their disease trajectory. RWJBarnabas Health, Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey, Cooperman Barnabas Medical Center in Livingston, New Jersey, shows us how to do so using artificial intelligence to identify and then monitor patients with pancreatic cysts, which can be a precursor to this deadly cancer.

We know what we need to do to make up ground lost to COVID-19 and to connect our patients to life-saving cancer screenings. St. Luke's Cancer Center in Easton, Pennsylvania, shows us how to do it with an accelerated delivery platform that improves clinic workflow and speeds up breast cancer diagnosis and treatment planning.

Now I want to circle back around to where I started: disparities in palliative care. This November, I will facilitate a discussion with a group of subject matter experts who will share real-world solutions to improve your palliative care programs and help you deliver equitable care. More information to come.

Meanwhile, I know that many of your teams have developed their own how-to solutions and I strongly urge you to collaborate with your colleagues and apply for a 2025 ACCC Innovator Award. Start brainstorming with your teams now. Applications open the first week in December. Winners will be selected by a peer-reviewed process and present their innovations on a national stage at the ACCC 42nd National Oncology Conference in Denver, Colorado on October 15–17, 2025. Through personal experience, I promise you that the ACCC Innovator Award experience is a transformative one.