Since its formation, the Association of Community Cancer Centers (ACCC) has become integral to disseminating oncology standards and new clinical protocols to community cancer programs around the United States. The ACCC has also emerged as one of the leading organizations in the fight to improve cancer care for patients.
One way in which the ACCC has been instrumental in this fight has been the publication of its Cancer Program Guidelines. First introduced in the 1980s, these guidelines were established to help cancer centers develop and maintain comprehensive interdisciplinary programs that meet the needs of patients and their families. Updated periodically, the guidelines reflect the optimal components for best practice in cancer care and have helped to propel many smaller community centers to be more effective at providing care for their patients.
Crucial to disseminating key information to community cancer centers within its reach is the ACCC Annual Meeting, which celebrated its 42nd year in 2016. The CANCERSCAPE meeting drew over 400 cancer care providers and oncology leaders as well as other health care stakeholders from around the country, who sought to gain strategic insight into the complexities of oncology treatment where clinical advances, policy mandates, and value-based payment reforms have changed nearly every function of the industry.
The central focus of the meeting was the ever-increasing emphasis on value in cancer care delivery and reimbursement decisions. Additionally, throughout the meeting, providers were urged to be active advocates by getting their message across to their representatives in Congress. In addition to Capitol Hill Day, when meeting participants were provided an opportunity to meet with key legislators in order to advocate for policy changes to improve the way cancer care is delivered, ACCC invited Congressman Richard Nolan (D-MN) to give the opening address. Congressman Nolan, who discussed his daughter’s fight against lung cancer, addressed upcoming policy changes in the oncology field and advised care providers to bring their concerns and ideas to the attention of policymakers.
Additional sessions at the meeting addressed topics such as new methods for quality measurement, how value-based care models will affect community centers, and ways to curb costs for patients and hospitals.
In a presentation at the ACCC annual meeting, Kavita Patel, MD, MS, shared some of her thoughts and concerns regarding precision medicine.
Collaboration Across Specialties to Improve Care and Curb Costs
In another presentation, Matthew A Manning, MD, discussed how better communication across medical departments can lead to improved outcomes for patients with cancer.
