Prior to 2020, patients newly diagnosed with breast cancer at Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist’s Comprehensive Cancer Center experienced high variability in the number of days it took to see a breast cancer provider. Scheduling was decentralized across the departments and rarely could multiple visits be coordinated to occur on the same day, within the same location. Addressing this issue required a coordinated, multidisciplinary approach that involved engaging the cancer center leadership across 3 treatment departments—medical, radiation, and surgical oncology—administration, physicians, advanced practice providers (APPs), patient navigation, genetic counseling, scheduling, imaging, lab, and pathology. The primary goals of the initiative were to transform patient experience and improve timeliness to care for every newly diagnosed patient.

Guest:

Hunter Hayes, MBA

Associate Principal

The Chartis Group

“Being able to get patients seen quickly; being able to retain patients for their full cancer treatment is incredibly important…competition is growing and being able to keep those patients and keep their experience positive is critical.”

Read more in “Improving the Care of Patients Newly Diagnosed With Breast Cancer” coming in your Volume 38, Number 2, Oncology Issues.

Resources:

Improving Cancer Care Teamwork: Five Patient-Centered Strategies to Strengthen Care Coordination

Machine Learning and Predictive Analytics Solution Transforms Infusion Center Operations

Location Technology Improves Efficiency, Safety & the Patient Experience

Breast Care ACCESS Project

Oncology IssuesVolume 39, Issue 2 Apr 2024

Improving timely identification and referral of patients who may be eligible for chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy is critical for improving outcomes for patients with hematologic malignancies. On February 7, 2024, ACCC hosted a virtual Working Summit: Advancing CAR T-Cell Therapy Care Continuity and Collaborative Patient Education to explore topics including patient and caregiver needs as well as care coordination between referring providers and certified CAR T-cell therapy centers.

In this episode, CANCER BUZZ speaks with Amy D. Smith, FNP-BC, director of the Meredith and Jeannie Ray Cancer Center at Ivinson Memorial Hospital and co-chair of the Summit about the event’s key findings, which can guide cancer programs in building a framework for optimized CAR T-cell therapy care coordination.

“The goal really was how do we get those patients [receiving CAR T-cell therapy] back here and get them back into some kind of normalcy in their life sooner? A lot of that is building relationships and having trust with those providers in the academic centers that are performing the CAR T, so that they know that we can provide safe care at home.” –Amy D. Smith, FNP-BC

“Keeping care close to home is near to my heart, living in a rural area. That was one takeaway... how do we collaborate better to make this happen for our patients and care teams? –Amy D. Smith, FNP-BC

Amy D. Smith, FNP-BC

Director, Meredith and Jeannie Ray Cancer Center

Ivinson Memorial Hospital

Laramie, WY

This episode was developed in connection with the ACCC education program Tips for Early Patient Identification for CAR T-Cell Therapy and Care Continuity with Community Providers and made possible with support by Kite Pharma, Johnson & Johnson, and Legend Biotech, and through partnerships with Cancer Support Community, the Association of American Cancer Institutes, and the Advanced Practitioner Society for Hematology and Oncology.

Resources:

• ACCC CAR T-Cell Therapy Focus Group Highlights
• Tips for Early Patient Identification for CAR T-Cell Therapy and Care Continuity with Community Providers
• Community CAR T-Cell Patient Identification Framework – CANCER BUZZ [Mini Podcast] Ep 138
• If They Recur, You Should Refer—A Community Oncologist Patient ID Roundtable Summary – from Oncology Issues Vol. 38, No. 6

The 4R Oncology® Model facilitates enhanced patient engagement and timely care provision by streamlining delivery of complex interdependent care. Implementation of the 4R Oncology® model in breast and lung cancer clinics has improved patients’ involvement in organizing their care, enabled the development of high-functioning multidisciplinary care teams, and helped to optimize the timing and coordination of sequence of care. In this episode, CANCER BUZZ speaks with Raymond Liu, MD, director of research of Hematology-Oncology in Kaiser Permanente Northern California, director of cancer survivorship in Kaiser Permanente San Francisco, and assistant clinical professor at UCSF, who shares how successful implementation of the 4R Oncology® model empowers patients and clinicians and coheres care teams.

“When people could see that plan, and they could bring that home with them, and they saw that it was all guideline-based and mapped through in a very, very detailed way, they were empowered to answer their questions, especially for their loved ones, and to really reflect on what was said [in the doctor-patient consultation] at home.” –Raymond Liu, MD

“Care is so complex now; our innovations are really, really going fast but we have not been able to deliver the care in a way that’s understandable sometimes, and so by putting it in a single care plan, the patients really engage with it, and we found that the call volumes came down.” –Raymond Liu, MD

Raymond Liu, MD

Director of Research of Hematology-Oncology

Kaiser Permanente Northern California

Oakland, CA

Director of Cancer Survivorship

Kaiser Permanente San Franciso

San Francisco, CA

Assistant Clinical Professor

University of California San Francisco

San Francisco, CA

This episode was developed in connection with the ACCC program Care Action Plans for People with Cancer. ACCC, in partnership with the Center for Business Models in Healthcare, is making 4R Care Sequences® available at no cost to ACCC members. 4R Oncology® is the intellectual property of CBM-HC (Executive Frameworks, Ltd.), but is not a commercial product or service. 4R Care Sequence® templates were developed based on studies sponsored by Genentech, Inc.

Resources:

4R Oncology®

JCO Article Fostering High-Functioning Team

JCO Impact of 4R Oncology® Model