AMCCBS Virtual, Day 2: Telehealth, Virtual Care Models, and Remote Monitoring

While the word “unprecedented” has been used in excess this past year, we are still swimming in uncharted waters in 2021. As we continue to navigate the unknown in healthcare and beyond, the lessons learned in 2020 can give us tools to anticipate and confront new and ongoing challenges in cancer care. The ACCC 47th Annual Meeting & Cancer Center Business Summit (AMCCBS Virtual) on March 1-5 will gather leaders in oncology from community cancer centers, academic medical centers, think tanks, industry, and patient advocacy organizations to share insights about how COVID-19 has changed and will continue to change cancer care in the near and distant future.

Guest speakers at AMCCBS Virtual will examine timely, real-world case studies from organizations that used the opportunities created by the pandemic to forge new paths forward. They will demonstrate how to lead your cancer program or practice through today’s rapidly changing circumstances by accelerating your digital health capabilities, transforming your business operations and care processes, and enhancing the patient/provider experience.

AMCCBS Virtual sessions on Tuesday, March 2, will focus on telehealth, virtual care, and remote monitoring. A catch-all name for a wide variety of patient services provided in multiple virtual settings, telehealth is arguably the most seismic shift engendered by COVID-19. While virtual patient care delivery has had its proponents for years, telehealth became an urgent necessity in 2020 for healthcare providers who needed to reach patients for whom it was suddenly too dangers to venture outside. AMCCBS Virtual speakers will address and lead conversations about the multiple and changing roles of telehealth during the COVID-19 pandemic. Scheduled sessions include:

• Policy Considerations for Adopting and Expanding Telehealth at Your Cancer Program: A panel featuring speakers from the Center for Connected Health Policy, National Committee for Quality Assurance, Cancer IQ, Inc., and Revenue Cycle Coding Strategies will explore policy considerations for cancer programs looking to sustain and expand their telehealth services. Panelists will discuss reimbursement and regulatory barriers, lessons learned and opportunities in the current era, healthcare disparities, and the policies that are needed to ensure the long-term adoption of telehealth.

• Virtual Solutions: Oncology Telemedicine for Rural Communities: Here, participants will address telehealth concerns specific to rural communities, which can have fewer resources and poorer access to cancer care than urban populations. By learning how one rural cancer program successfully used telehealth tools pre-pandemic to reach their patients, attendees can take home proven strategies to address the challenges posed by limited access to technology, multiple socio-economic barriers to care, and limited financial resources.

• Cancer Care During the Pandemic: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly from the Patient Perspective: A panel featuring leaders in policy and patient advocacy will explore the patient perspective on the widespread adoption of telehealth in the wake of COVID-19. What is working for patients, and what is not? The patient advocacy groups represented on this panel have studied telehealth from the patient perspective and will share their findings to help enhance patient care in different types of cancer practices and programs.

• Video Visits to Virtual Care Centers: The Evolving Digital Opportunity: Experts from a leading healthcare consulting firm will present on and cultivate a discussion about how new and existing virtual technologies and digital tools can bring comprehensive cancer care to patients regardless of geography. Unconstrained by physical boundaries, virtual tools can be leveraged to expand services such as patient navigation, tumor boards, consultations, clinical trials, follow-up care, and supportive care without having to enlarge a practice’s physical space.

• Prevention on the Go—Workplace: COVID-19 has had a caused a precipitous drop in cancer screenings and has curbed prevention efforts nationwide. Learn how one cancer program has managed to continue offering these services during the pandemic. The program’s mobile van has successfully provided cancer screenings and education to at-risk patients who have been hesitant to return to the clinic during COVID-19.

• Keeping Patients Connected to Telegenetics During and Beyond COVID-19: Three digital health and genetic counseling experts will address the practical aspects of building tele-genetic programs at different types of cancer programs and practices. By offering remote genetic testing and counseling, you can give your patients expanded access to services that are not available to most people.

The sessions on March 2 will close with Issue of the Day: Telehealth, Virtual Care Models, and Remote Monitoring Networking Event. During this event, attendees will be invited to join a discussion with their peers about lessons learned from the pandemic in relation to their telehealth services and how they perceive telehealth evolving the near- and long-term. Register and learn more about the opportunities offered at the virtual ACCC 47th Annual Meeting & Cancer Center Business Summit.

VieCure is the AMCCBS Virtual Premium Sponsor on Tuesday, March 2, 2021.