PCOC 2025 to Bring More Experts, More Engagement Than Ever

Patient-Centered Oncology Care^® (PCOC), the signature event from The American Journal of Managed Care^®, opens tomorrow in Nashville, Tennessee, with more than 60 faculty on 15 panels discussing current clinical topics and up-to-the-minute policy challenges, all through the lens of value-based care.

The meeting at the JW Marriott runs Thursday, September 25, 2025, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Friday from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. A full schedule and registration are still available.

PCOC’s 2025 theme, “Finding Our Rhythm: Embracing Change in Oncology Care,” reflects the upheaval in cancer care—both good and bad. Waves of new therapies and the arrival of artificial intelligence (AI) offer new hope for patients and new ways for clinicians to pair candidates with clinical trials. At the same time, payer barriers and financial toxicity remain stubborn as ever, while a combination of policy changes from CMS threatens the foundation of community oncology, where most patients receive care.

Advocacy, technology and AI, and clinical advances will be recurring themes across the meeting, which will include first-time sessions on survivorship, managing better transitions with primary care, and how to bring new services into the practice.

Cochairs for PCOC 2025 will be Davey Daniel, MD, chief medical officer for OneOncology, and Kathy Oubre, MS, CEO of Pontchartrain Cancer Center; Oubre is also moderating Friday’s session, “Multiplying Cancer Service Lines in the Community Setting.” Both spoke with AJMC ahead of the meeting.

Oubre noted the meeting brings together stakeholders from across the cancer care spectrum: providers, payer representatives, patient advocates, and policy leaders.

“Over the next 2 days, there will be practical discussions on value-based care, payment models, coverage and regulatory changes, and the rising costs of care, but always with the patient experience and health equity at the center,” she said. “What makes this meeting unique is that it isn't just about theory, it's about sharing the best patient-centered business practices and strategies that attendees can take back to their practices or their own organizations.”

Daniel highlighted PCOC’s emphasis on information that can be used in day-to-day practice, but with an eye toward what’s coming. “We have leaders from across oncology, from practice leaders, payers, industry, and innovators, who are all thinking about how we can move oncology care forward,” he said.

“From discussions on the personalization of medicine and the use of technology in cancer care to the integration of pathways and survivorship programs to improve care, we hear from people in the trenches, bringing those programs into clinics.”

Clinical sessions will include “Oncology Unlocked: Navigating Smarter Clinical Pathways,” to be moderated by Edward “Ted" Arrowsmith, MD, MPH, executive vice president, Therapeutics, Tennessee Oncology, and medical director, Pathways, OneOncology; and “Access for Everyone: Using AI in Precision Oncology,” to be moderated by Daniel. Policy sessions will include “In a Wave of Change: Advocacy Is Everyone’s Job,” to be moderated by David Eagle, MD, chair, Legislative Affairs and Patient Advocacy, New York Cancer & Blood Specialists, and “The Delicate Dance: When Payment Models Fall Short of Innovation,” to be moderated by Lalan Wilfong, MD, senior vice president of value-based care, Thyme Care.

Once again, PCOC will give leading community oncology networks and alliances time to share how they are innovating on the front lines: this year’s presenters will be The US Oncology Network, OneOncology, American Oncology Network, and ONCare Alliance.

Capping the conference will be “Innovations in Industry: Looking at the Next Decade,” which will give leaders from the world of drug manufacturing an opportunity to share their perspectives on the rapidly changing scientific and policy arena. Ryan Haumschild, PharmD, MS, MBA, CPEL, vice president, Ambulatory Pharmacy, Emory Healthcare, and Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University, will serve as moderator.