New Data Prove Community Cancer Care Delivers: Diana Verrilli, MS

For Diana Verrilli, MS, senior vice president and general manager of Navista, the Community Oncology Alliance’s newly released “Quality of Care Study: Phase 1 Report on Overall Survival” is both professionally validating and deeply personal.

“It’s about time,” Verrilli said, reflecting on the significance of the findings. The research, which incorporated Flatiron Health Research Network and Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results data, demonstrates that cancer care delivered in community oncology settings is equal to—or better than—care available elsewhere in the market. This first part of the study, released on April 28 at the 2026 Community Oncology Conference, focused on outcomes among patients with metastatic breast cancer and metastatic non–small cell lung cancer.

Verrilli, herself a cancer survivor who received care in a community setting, said the results confirm what many in the field have long believed. “I think we’ve all known that,” she noted, adding that seeing the data come together so compellingly makes her eager to see additional studies validate and build upon these findings.

Beyond the clinical implications, Verrilli emphasized that the Flatiron data carry an important policy message: community oncology, which keeps patients close to home, must be reimbursed accordingly. She called for urgent action on site-of-care reimbursement differentials, arguing that the evidence now makes a clear case for equitable payment reform. She also urged patients to feel confident seeking cancer care locally, saying the new data should be more compelling than ever in that regard.

For Verrilli, the work is driven by more than professional responsibility. As a cancer survivor, she brings a patient-centered perspective to her role every day, one that recognizes the profound emotional and financial weight of a cancer diagnosis. “It’s a life-changing event,” she said, describing her commitment to ensuring patients are truly supported throughout what is, for most, an extraordinarily difficult journey. That personal mission, she said, fuels her confidence that the work being done at Navista, a clinician-designed oncology practice alliance, is making a real difference 1 patient at a time.