Community Oncology Alliance (COA)

The frequency of global crises such as hurricanes, war, and the pandemic makes a standing committee necessary.

Angela Storseth-Cooper, associate director, Government Relations & Public Policy, The US Oncology Network, discusses state-level legislation that community oncology practices can leverage to address issues involving pharmacy benefit managers and the vertical integration of health plans and specialty pharmacies.

Quality measures are the lifeblood of practice transformation, but learning which ones make a difference—and how to use them to drive change—is as much an art as a science, according to 3 oncology care leaders who discussed the topic Friday at the 2022 Community Oncology Conference, presented by the Community Oncology Alliance.

During a panel at the Community Oncology Alliance’s Community Oncology Conference, speakers discuss practice-level efforts to reduce cancer care disparities.

A panel on the first day of the Community Oncology Alliance 2022 Community Oncology Conference examines issues that will affect oncology practices in the future.

No One Left Behind, a program to provide financial assistance and access to cancer care at Carolina Blood and Cancer Care Associates in South Carolina, will be discussed during a session of the Community Oncology Alliance 2022 Community Oncology Conference.

Authors from the Community Oncology Alliance and Avalere Health present data that show breast cancer screening rates recovered more slowly among some racial/ethnic groups following on the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The first in-person Community Oncology Alliance (COA) meeting in 2 years will feature sessions on practice management, health disparities, and more. A virtual option is available.

Kashyap Patel, MD, chief executive officer, Carolina Blood and Cancer Care Associations, and current president of the Community Oncology Alliance (COA), previews his discussion on health equity to be held at the 2022 Community Oncology Conference.

Glenn Balasky, executive director of Rocky Mountain Cancer Centers, previewed topics and potential takeaways from his discussion on building a community oncology practice for the future at the 2022 Community Oncology Conference.

Kashyap Patel, MD, CEO of Carolina Blood and Cancer Care Associates, and current president of the Community Oncology Alliance (COA), speaks on what he’s looking forward to for his first in-person Community Oncology Conference as COA president.

A webinar by the National Cancer Treatment Alliance discussed current use and diagnostic/therapeutic benefits of comprehensive genomic profiling in oncology, as well as recommendations for employers and benefit consultants considering biomarker testing.

The Oncology Care Model (OCM) is set to expire June 30, 2022. With no successor on the horizon, respondents to a recent survey by the Community Oncology Alliance (COA) say features such as dedicated navigators and weekend appointments could be reduced or lost if revenues that supported them are eliminated.

Coverage from the 2021 COA Payer Exchange Summit.

Coverage from the 2021 COA Payer Exchange Summit.

Debra Patt, MD, PhD, MBA, of Texas Oncology, and Lucio Gordan, MD, of Florida Cancer Specialists, MD, presented data from a study they conducted in partnership with the Community Oncology Alliance and Avalere Health.

Vertical integration of payers and pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) took flight with the mergers of Aetna and CVS Health and of Cigna and ExpressScripts. Panelists at Patient-Centered Oncology Care® said the shift has filtered down to affect access at the practice level.

The Oncology Care Model (OCM) is scheduled to end in just a few months, but with no new model in place to succeed it and practices still struggling during the pandemic, CMS should allow OCM to continue, said Kashyap Patel, MD, a co-chair of Patient-Centered Oncology Care® and the current president of the Community Oncology Alliance. He is CEO of Carolina Blood and Cancer Care Associates.

The announcement of a "strategic refresh" for payment models under the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation offered no details on what practices should expect when the Oncology Care Model (OCM) expires in 2022.

The Oncology Care Model (OCM) is scheduled to end in just a few months, but with no new model in place to succeed it and practices still struggling during the pandemic, OCM should continue in its current form, said Kashyap Patel, MD, CEO of Carolina Blood and Cancer Care Associations, current president of the Community Oncology Alliance, and co-chair of Patient-Centered Oncology Care®.

The new standards come as community oncology practices await word on the future of the oncology care model, which will expire in 2022.

Biomarker testing and remote patient monitoring are just 2 areas of research presented during the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO).

In the inaugural Oncology Value Coalition from The American Journal of Managed Care®, Kashyap Patel, MD, led a discussion with Debra Patt, MD, PhD, MBA; and Karen Winkfield, MD, PhD, exploring findings that suggest minority groups develop cancer at higher rates and experience worse outcomes than nonminority groups.

In the inaugural Oncology Value Coalition from The American Journal of Managed Care®, Kashyap Patel, MD, led a discussion with Debra Patt, MD, PhD, MBA; and Karen Winkfield, MD, PhD, exploring findings that suggest minority groups develop cancer at higher rates and experience worse outcomes than nonminority groups.

In the inaugural Oncology Value Coalition from The American Journal of Managed Care®, Kashyap Patel, MD, led a discussion with Debra Patt, MD, PhD, MBA; and Karen Winkfield, MD, PhD, exploring findings that suggest minority groups develop cancer at higher rates and experience worse outcomes than nonminority groups.

Hospital reimbursement deals slow the adoption of biosimilars in oncology, but cost concerns contribute to the incentives to use these agents.

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.

There are many sources, and definitions, of where the value in cancer care lies. In this panel discussion, a cancer survivor and patient advocate, an oncologist, and a benefits professional provided their perspectives on what value in cancer care means to them.

Lalan Wilfong, MD, executive vice president, Value Based Care & Quality Programs, Texas Oncology, and cochair, Payment Reform, Community Oncology Alliance, speaks on the evolution of remote monitoring in cancer care and how value-based oncology may look in the near future.