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From precision medicine to psychosocial care to navigation for a diverse population, the latest issue Oncology Issues brings insights into not just institutional and administrative barriers to treatment, but areas of care that directly impact the lived experience of those navigating the cancer care continuum.
The newest issue of Oncology Issues offers innovative tools, workflows, and patient-centered treatment methodologies designed to improve accessibility, equity, and the patient experience. From precision medicine to psychosocial care to navigation for a diverse population, this issue brings insights into not just institutional and administrative barriers to treatment, but areas of care that directly impact the lived experience of those navigating the cancer care continuum. Read on for a preview of the important work being done in multidisciplinary care teams across ACCC’s membership in the latest Oncology Issues.
Precision oncology is transforming cancer care, but fragmented data, evolving knowledge, and complex workflows create significant challenges for community cancer centers. Bayhealth—Delaware’s second largest health system—and N-Power Medicine—an oncology research network, data, technology, and service provider—teamed up to develop a sustainable precision oncology and research program.
This article explores how community oncology programs can collaborate with technology and research companies to expand diagnostic and treatment offerings. Learn how Bayhealth and N-Power Medicine have leveraged data integration, technology, and multidisciplinary expertise to harmonize clinical and molecular information and build a more connected approach to a precision oncology program.
Clinical advances such as molecular diagnostics and immunotherapy have made cancer care increasingly precise, but too often, the psychosocial effects of treatment do not receive the same rigorous attention. In the Collaborative Care Model, behavioral health is integrated into medical care rather than operating as a separate referral pathway, ensuring mental health is not an afterthought.
In this article, four oncology leaders share insights into the operational considerations, including staffing, workflows, and patient education, necessary to demonstrate the feasibility of this care model. Read the full feature to understand how this approach can extend behavioral health expertise across the entire care team without the need for an in-house psychiatry department.
Amid growing complexity in cancer treatments and patient needs, building a cohesive, multidisciplinary care team is more important than ever. For Cancer Care Associates of York, a team-based approach to care coordination has proven vital in improving staff communication, combatting clinician burnout, and enhancing patient outcomes.
In this article, the cancer program’s Lead Advanced Practice Provider shares the challenges that sparked change and the staffing strategies that successfully improved patient and provider experiences. Read on to learn how the introduction of an oral oncology nurse navigator, clearly defined scopes of practice for team members, and structured communication touchpoints throughout the day transformed a community oncology practice.
Depression in oncology is not only distressing to patients, but also a clinically significant concern, associated with greater symptom burden, poorer treatment adherence, and reduced quality of life. While antidepressants and other systemic medications are a common solution, clinicians and patients may prefer to avoid additional drugs due to adverse effects, drug-drug interactions, or patient preference.
This article explores the potential of transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), a noninvasive intervention for depression that offers a nonpharmacologic treatment option and may help overcome some of the barriers associated with traditional antidepressants. Learn more about how TMS works, safety considerations, and which groups of patients may be good candidates for this treatment.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, CHRISTUS St Vincent Regional Medical Center in New Mexico identified significant gaps in the healthcare system for American Indian patients, particularly when being referred from the Indian Health Service for complex cases. In response, the center created a Native Health Navigation Program, run by and for American Indians, to support the logistical and cultural transition between healthcare providers.
Through patient support and provider education, this program offers culturally responsive care that helps patients better navigate the healthcare system and access clinical trials. Read the full article to understand how this cancer program approaches navigation for its unique community to ensure patients feel heard, respected, and supported.
For patients with early-stage Hodgkin lymphoma, high cure rates have brought a new challenge: how to balance effective treatment with the long-term consequences of therapy. Through a global collaboration involving RWJBarnabas Health/Rutgers Cancer Institute, Tufts Medical Center, and the University of Manchester, researchers developed the Early-Stage cHL International Prognostic Index, the first validated risk prediction model for adults diagnosed with early-stage Hodgkin lymphoma.
For this article, Oncology Issues interviewed Andrew M. Evens, DO, MBA, MSc, Deputy Director for Clinical Services at Rutgers Cancer Institute and Chief Physician Officer at the Jack & Cheryl Morris Cancer Center, about how this partnership is improving patient care by quantifying risk at the individual level, rather than applying a one-size-fits-all approach to treatment. Dr. Evens describes the data-driven tool’s ability to bring greater precision to risk assessment, treatment decisions, and patient conversations, as well as its accessibility as a free online resource.
There is a common and deeply rooted assumption in oncology that early-phase clinical trials must be limited to academic centers to remain safe. University of Chicago Medicine challenges that belief through its commitment to offering decentralized clinical trials (DCTs), which bring some or all elements of clinical research closer to patients.
This case study explores the program’s approach, a decade in the making, to offering phase 1 DCTs across a regional network, demonstrating how decentralization can expand access, engage diverse populations, and preserve safety. Read about the lessons learned at University of Chicago Medicine regarding infrastructure, financing, and patient experience that can be applied to clinical research across cancer programs.
In addition to the feature articles, this issue of Oncology Issues offers:
Dive into the full issue to learn from colleagues across the country and put their insights into practice.
An at-home option for cervical cancer screening breaks down barriers to care and offers the same level of precision as screening in the clinic.
