COA: Community Oncology Alliance

As CAR T-cell therapy reaches community oncology, practice leaders discuss the challenges of payer hurdles, single case agreements, apheresis costs and whether to pursue accreditation.

Karen Fancher, PharmD, BCOP, emphasizes a pharmacist’s pivotal role in CLL care through communication, adherence strategies, and bridging patients with medical teams.

Rose Gerber, MS, explains how listening, personal experience, and small steps can transform patients into powerful advocates for their own care.

Policy experts discuss how PBM reforms came together, what changes are on the horizon, and what threats are looming for community oncology.

Lekan Ajayi, PharmD, explains how remote therapy monitoring keeps patients with cancer on track with their care and reduces emergency visits.

New research incorporating Flatiron Health and SEER data, confirms community oncology care matches or beats other settings, says Diana Verrilli, MS, Navista.

Bringing these curative treatments to more patients means making them available at the community practice level. But that's a big lift, according to experts who spoke at a COA session.

Results of a study using Flatiron Health and SEER data show that community oncology patients with metastatic breast cancer and metastatic NSCLC live longer, highlighting advantages of COA-backed local care.

Community oncology delivers top-tier cancer care close to home, said Nicolas Ferreyros, COA, championing research, advocacy, and innovation to prove it.

COA’s Christine Pfaff, RPh, MBA, highlights clinical and operational innovation, AI adoption, and practice-sharing as keys to advancing community oncology care.

COA's annual conference hits Orlando April 28, focusing on AI, targeted therapy innovation, and state-level oncology advocacy, explains cochair Johnetta Blakely, MD, MS, MMHC.

The COA Community Oncology Conference will tackle AI, the rollout of bispecifics and CAR T in the community setting, plus reimbursement, radiation oncology, and patient access strategies.

The 2025 Community Oncology Conference, hosted by COA, reflected a commitment to patient-centered care, access, and innovation in community oncology.

Remote patient monitoring enhances cancer care by improving outcomes and reducing emergency visits, despite challenges in reimbursement and technology access.

Community oncology leaders navigate challenges in value-based care under the Enhancing Oncology Model, facing performance payment uncertainties and evolving drug markets.

Community oncology faces significant challenges from the Inflation Reduction Act's (IRA) drug pricing changes, risking financial stability and patient access to care.

As community oncology evolves to deliver chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T and bispecific therapies closer to home, support is needed to ensure patient access and precision medicine capabilities, says Nini Wu, MD.

Stephen Speicher, MD, and Kate Estep, from Flatiron Health, discuss the future of oncology care with artificial intelligence (AI).

The 2025 Community Oncology Conference empowered attendees with insights on advocacy, innovation, and practical strategies for enhancing community cancer care.

An executive order signed on Tuesday, March 15, necessitated a change in plans for this panel discussion from the 2025 Community Oncology Conference, with the assembled experts, moderated by Ted Okon, MBA, executive director of the Community Oncology Alliance, speaking to how the order would reverberate across the community oncology space.

Experts at the Community Oncology Conference discuss innovative patient navigation programs, emphasizing technology's role and the importance of human connection in cancer care.

Lalan Wilfong, MD, of Thyme Care and Texas Oncology, discusses a session on circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) and shares insight as chair of the Community Oncology Alliance (COA) Payer Reform Committee.

Kate Baker, MD, MMHC, medical director of value-based care at Tennessee Oncology, talks about innovations in cancer care highlighted at the Community Oncology Conference.

At the 2025 Community Oncology Conference, Nini Wu, MD, Navista, shares how AI can transform community oncology.

Experts emphasize the need for enhanced clinical trial infrastructure in community oncology to ensure equitable access to innovative therapies for all patients.

Mike Fazio, director of value-based care at Navista, Cardinal Health, discusses a trending topic at the 2025 Community Oncology Conference: optimizing oncology care with technology.

Oncology leaders from Alliance Cancer Specialists, American Oncology Network, CHI St. Vincent, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, and New York Cancer & Blood Specialists discussed the power of collaboration in cancer care, highlighting partnerships that enhance patient outcomes and resource sharing in community practices.

This article appears in the April issue of Evidence-Based Oncology.

Demonstration projects to show accurate use of artificial intelligence (AI) in cancer care are important to prevent a loss of credibility in the technology, explained Glenn Balasky, executive director, Rocky Mountain Cancer Centers.

Policy changes, such as banning spread pricing and promoting transparency, are necessary to realign the pharmacy benefit manager (PBM) market and ensure that health care resources benefit patients and providers rather than being diverted by middlemen, according to panelists at the Community Oncology Alliance Payer Exchange Summit.