Association of Community Cancer Centers | Strategic Alliance Partnership

The Association of Community Cancer Centers' 39th National Oncology Conference took place October 12-14 in West Palm Beach, Florida.

Leaders from City of Hope National Medical Center discussed how the cancer research and treatment center addressed challenges with attracting and retaining oncology pharmacists through a restructuring during the ACCC 39th National Oncology Conference.

Mike Koroscik, vice president, Oncology, Allina Health Cancer Institute, presented “Preparing for Population Health in Oncology,” during the Association of Community Cancer Centers 39th National Oncology Conference, which concluded Friday.

Patients have to always come first, and technology can enhance their care experience, stated Anne Marie F. Rainey, MSN, RN, CHC, director of quality and value-based care at Clearview Cancer Institute.

On day 1 of this year’s Association of Community Cancer Centers’ (ACCC) National Oncology Conference, The American Journal of Managed Care® sat down for a conversation with David Penberthy, MD, MBA, ACCC’s president for the 2022-2023 term, and his brother Scott Penberthy, PhD, MS, director, Applied AI, Office of the CTO, at Google.

There have been many silver linings of the pandemic, including improvements in financial, operational, and clinical advancement efficiencies, as well as addressing the total cost of care in population health management, said Mike Koroscik, MBA, MHA, vice president of oncology, Allina Health and the Allina Health Cancer Institute.

Winners of the Association of Community Cancer Centers 2022 Innovator Awards, presented at the National Oncology Conference, include a program to embed primary care in a cancer center and an effort to increase compliance with giving patients same-day medication education.

It’s important that patients are the healthiest they can be when going into treatment for cancer, emphasized Debra Delaney, MSN, FNP-BC, primary care nurse practitioner at ChristianaCare’s Helen F. Graham Cancer Center & Research Institute.

Ochsner Health's program was among the recipients of the 2022 ACCC Innovator Awards, given to projects that improve patient care, are cost-effective, and are replicable.

Much of artificial intelligence (AI) is now being used in the more mundane areas of health care, figuring out where to be most helpful, so doctors can do what they do best, which is diagnostic care, noted Scott Penberthy, PhD, MS, director, Applied AI, Office of the CTO, at Google.

Leana Cabrera Chien, MSN, RN, GCNS-BC, GNP-BC, is a geriatric nurse practitioner at City of Hope, working in its Aging Wellness Clinic.

The sessions align with the yearlong theme selected by this year’s ACCC president, David R. Penberthy, MD, MBA, when he took the helm in March: “Leveraging Technology to Transform Cancer Care Delivery and the Patient Experience.”

Carmen Guerra, MD, MSCE, FACP, is a general internist and professor of medicine at the University of Pennsylvania's Perelman School of Medicine.

Randall A. Oyer, MD, medical director of the Ann B. Barshinger Cancer Institute, medical director of oncology, and medical director of the Cancer Risk Evaluation Program, Lancaster General Health, discusses recommendations to improve diversity in clinical trials.

David R. Penberthy, MD, MBA, is medical director, Radiation Oncology, Bon Secours-Southside Medical Center in Petersburg, Virginia, and president of the Association of Community Cancer Centers for the 2022-2023 term.

Randall A. Oyer, MD, medical director, oncology, and medical director, Cancer Risk Evaluation Program, Lancaster General Health, and clinical professor of cancer biology at Penn Medicine, discusses the recent American Society of Clinical Oncology/Association of Community Cancer Centers recommendations for improving diversity in clinical trials.

Joseph Alvarnas, MD, vice president of government affairs at City of Hope and chief clinical adviser of AccessHope in Duarte, California, spoke March 4 at the closing session of the Association for Community Cancer Centers (ACCC) Annual Meeting & Cancer Business Summit in Washington, DC.

David Penberthy, MD, MBA, medical director of radiation oncology at Southside Regional Medical Center, discusses his theme as president-elect of the Association of Community Cancer Centers (ACCC) and what initiatives and discussions he looks forward to addressing over the next year.

A session moderated by the president of the Association of Community Cancer Centers (ACCC) examined the business case for having oncology pharmacists and oncology social workers on community cancer care teams.

The panel said the prior authorization system was intended not just to make sure treatments are necessary but also to ensure that practices get paid; however, it needs a lot of work.

A session on industry reconfiguration covered differed business models for oncology, including payer acquisition of networks and collaboration with academic centers and primary care.

The session opened the 48th Annual Meeting and Cancer Center Business Summit, which is the first in-person meeting in 2 years for the Association of Community Cancer Centers. The meeting is taking place March 2-4 in Washington, DC.

ACCC created a survey to better understand multidisciplinary cancer providers’ experiences with bispecific antibodies, with a focus on experiences with blinatumomab. Results of the survey were presented in an abstract during the 2021 American Society of Hematology Annual Meeting & Exposition.

The second day of Patient-Centered Oncology Care® 2021 featured a panel discussion, “Oncology Care Transitions: Bridging the Gaps Across the Patient Journey.”

On day 2 of this year’s Community Oncology Conference, a panel of government and health policy experts gathered to discuss the hot-button issue of political influence on cancer policy and the damage community oncology has suffered this past year.

A presentation at the ACCC 47th Annual Meeting & Cancer Center Business Summit gave virtual attendees an overview of research on PROs and how RSM can be incorporated into an oncology practice.

Kavita Patel, MD, MS, FACP, a fellow at the Brookings Institution Center for Health Policy, touched on key topics in health care at the ACCC 47th Annual Meeting and Cancer Center Business Summit.