The practices in the Quality Cancer Care Alliance (QCCA) are able to share data to improve the quality of cancer care delivered to patients, explained Sibel Blau, MD, medical oncologist at Northwest Medical Specialties, PLLC.
The practices in the Quality Cancer Care Alliance (QCCA) are able to share data to improve the quality of cancer care delivered to patients, explained Sibel Blau, MD, medical oncologist at Northwest Medical Specialties, PLLC.
Transcript
How is the Quality Cancer Care Alliance sharing data and collaborating to contract with payers?
As a clinically integrated network, our goal is to go to the payers and tell them we provide a very unique and united value-based care path to our patients. And, yes, one of the major goals is to be able to contract with the payers. As far as the data sharing, we have created a data warehouse. Regardless of the EMR [electronic medical record]—not everybody is using the same EMR under QCCA—you can bring all this data into one area where the data can be shared.
We have done some data projects and we can share data, but we’re working on making a more robust data sharing, data reporting, and collecting going forwards. That’s going to be one of the main focus of QCCA.
What are some of the data projects the Quality Cancer Care Alliance has worked on?
Dr. Ray Page, from Fort Worth, Texas, and I shared a couple of projects. We were piloting a couple of projects. One of them was an artificial intelligence program. And we implemented this, actually, this year, 2018, and within a 6-month period we were able to show incredible savings in emergency room admissions, hospital admissions, and for my practice, what was the very, very phenomenal thing was improvement in our hospice referrals, pain management.
We also published a paper utilizing our triage pathways that happened because of the collaboration in QCCA. Something that we implemented with the help of, again, the Fort Worth, Texas, practice. Dr. Ray Page’s practice had the content of the triage pathways. We put then into a software with the help of Navigating Cancer, and that was provided free to all QCCA practices. So, by using that triage pathway, his practice and my practice showed significant savings in [emergency department use], referrals, hospitalizations, and admissions. We just published that paper, it’s being published.
Overcoming Employment Barriers for Lasting Social Impact: Freedom House 2.0 and Pathways to Work
April 16th 2024To help celebrate and recognize National Minority Health Month, we are bringing you a special month-long podcast series with our Strategic Alliance Partner, UPMC Health Plan. Welcome to our second episode, in which we learn all about Freedom House 2.0 and the Pathways to Work program.
Listen
Dr Michael Farwell on FDG PET/CT Imaging to Predict Immunotherapy Response in Advanced Melanoma
April 15th 2024Michael Farwell, MD, associate professor of radiology at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, provides insights into a study on the benefits of using 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) PET/CT imaging to detect metabolic tumor changes in skin cancer.
Read More
Making Giant Strides in Maternity Health Through Baby Steps
April 9th 2024To help celebrate and recognize National Minority Health Month, we are kicking off a special month-long podcast series with our strategic alliance partner, UPMC Health Plan. Welcome to our first episode, which is all about the Baby Steps Maternity Program and its mission to support women throughout every step of their pregnancy journey.
Listen
Increasing Lp(a) Awareness for Better Cardiovascular Health: Dr Mary McGowan
March 24th 2024For Lp(a) Awareness Day, Mary McGowan, MD, FNLA, chief medical officer of the Family Heart Foundation, highlights how most people with elevated Lp(a) are completely unaware that they have this increased risk and calls for increased testing.
Read More
Dr Al Benson on Reimbursement for Supportive Care When Treating Patients With Cancer
March 22nd 2024Al Benson, MD, FACP, FACCC, FASCO, medical oncologist at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine and associate director of the Robert E. Tillery Comprehensive Cancer Center, discussed findings from a national survey assessing barriers to comprehensive cancer care delivery.
Read More