Innovation and Collaboration Drive Community Oncology Forward: Christine Pfaff, RPh, MBA

Christine Pfaff, RPh, MBA, director of clinical initiatives at the Community Oncology Alliance (COA), sees this year’s pharmacy track sessions at the Community Oncology Conference as standing out for a distinctive reason: they address not only new therapies and treatment paradigms, but also the operational realities of bringing those advances to life in community oncology practices.

Pfaff emphasizes that innovation in oncology isn’t limited to the clinical side. Practices must also think creatively about contracting, staffing, and patient support. “You can innovate in your clinical ways, but you can also innovate operationally," she noted—a message she believes sets COA’s conference apart from others.

Keeping pace with rapidly evolving science is one of the field’s greatest challenges. With new drug classes and lines of therapy emerging at a rapid pace, Pfaff acknowledged how difficult it is for practices to track best practices and determine optimal treatment sequencing. COA helps practices navigate this complexity by guiding them on how to slot therapies, work with electronic medical record (EMR) and pharmacy software vendors, and integrate all of it into daily workflows.

One of community oncology’s most significant strengths, she argued, is its capacity for coordinated, wraparound care. Because physicians, pharmacists, and nursing teams often operate within the same practice and share the same EMR and data, patients can benefit from a true one-stop-shop experience, something Pfaff believes deserves greater recognition. Artificial intelligence (AI) is also a growing focus. COA’s conference will feature multiple sessions exploring how AI can support practices both clinically and on the operational and business side.

Perhaps the most persistent challenge community oncology faces is delivering top-quality care on razor-thin margins. Pfaff highlighted COA’s role as a network for practice sharing, connecting centers across the country to exchange strategies on bringing new drugs to market, managing staffing costs, and working constructively with payers, including CMS. That collaborative model, she said, has been central to helping practices break down barriers and deliver the comprehensive care cancer patients need and deserve.