On Thursday, March 9, about 500 participants convened in Washington, D.C., at the ACCC 49th Annual Meeting & Cancer Business Summit for a day and a half of general sessions, deep-dive workshops, and networking opportunities. Below are highlights from #AMCCBS.
Stories From CRISPR
Kevin Davies, PhD, author of the book Editing Humanity and executive editor of The CRISPR Journal, referred to CRISPR as a "cutting-edge technology with miraculous benefits," adding that "this is not just science fiction anymore. There are patients walking around today that have been cured by this technology. This is why we fund basic research." Dr. Davies described the current healthcare landscape as being characterized by an "arms race for drugs," thus technologies like CRISPR will be key in the future of delivering equitable, high-quality cancer care to patients everywhere.
Cancer Moonshot Update
"I want to start where the president and first lady usually start-hope. We don't mean hope in the abstract. We mean hope grounded in reality," said Danielle Carnival, PhD, coordinator for the White House Cancer Moonshot, as she opened her session. "Taking on cancer is one of the life missions for the President and First Lady because of the impact it has had on them, but it is a presidential priority because of the impact it has on every one of us-cutting short too many Americans' lives. That is why the President and First Lady relaunched the Cancer Moonshot program."
According to Dr. Carnival, access and health equity are major components of the relaunched Cancer Moonshot Initiative. "The tools we have and those we develop along the way must reach all Americans," she said. "To address inequities, we must ensure that every community in America-rural, urban, tribal, and everywhere else-has access to cutting-edge cancer diagnostics, therapeutics, and clinical trials."
Dr. Carnival described these goals as a "shared agenda" that every member of the healthcare community must focus on achieving. "The President called on everyone to do their part: the scientific community to bring its boldest thinking to the front, and the medical community to improve their outreach and support for underserved people around the country," she said, adding that "the private sector must step up and develop new treatments."
Further, Dr. Carnival highlighted President Biden's desire for patients with cancer to share their stories. "The President respectfully called on people living with cancer, their caregivers, family, and those who have lost someone to share their perspectives and experiences and to keep pushing for progress," she said. Patients with cancer and their loved ones can share their experiences on the Cancer Moonshot's website.
Dr. Carnival then discussed the goals of the first-ever Cancer Cabinet:
* To set up priority actions to close the screening gap
* To understand environmental and toxic exposures
* To decrease the impact of preventable cancers
* To bring cutting-edge research through the pipeline to patients and their communities
* To better support patients and caregivers.
Dr. Carnival wanted #AMCCBS attendees to leave with two primary messages. "The first is we need to bring the cancer care system to people," she said. "And the second is, so much is being asked of a family with a cancer diagnosis-cancer brings a financial, emotional, and medical burden. We need to find better ways to support them."
Diving Deep Into Oncology Care Challenges
ACCC hosted eight deep dive workshops throughout the day, allowing invited expert facilitators and attendees to partake in interactive conversations to identify challenges its members are experiencing today and help generate practical solutions to mitigate or resolve those challenges. Areas of focus included:
* New care delivery models
* Business intelligence and artificial intelligence technology solutions
* Precision medicine
* Payer-driven challenges
* Research and clinical trials
* Staffing models and workforce strategies
* Patient engagement
Discussion from these workshops will be captured and used to develop a comprehensive report for ACCC members post-conference, scheduled for publication in the Volume 38, Number 4 Oncology Issues.
The 2023-2024 ACCC President's Theme
Friday, March 10, #AMCCBS began with the announcement of Olalekan Ajayi, PharmD, MBA, chief operating officer at Highlands Oncology Group, PA, as the 2023-2024 ACCC President. "One of the greatest challenges we face over the next decade is related to our oncology workforce. Specifically, will we have enough providers and staff to support and deliver these lifesaving treatments to patients? It is a question that keeps me up at night and one reason my 2023-2024 ACCC President's Theme will focus on (Re)Building the Oncology Workforce to Deliver Next Generation Cancer Care." To accomplish this goal, over the next 12 months, ACCC will focus time and resources in three areas.
First, the Association will identify, develop, and deliver educational and advocacy resources to expand the capacity of the cancer care workforce, exploring innovative ways to deliver the highest quality of care. This means helping our workforce access the tools, information, and technology necessary to unlock their ability to deliver care at a higher level.
Second, ACCC will collaborate with thought leaders and key stakeholders across multidisciplinary organizations to identify, foster, and mentor future leaders in cancer care delivery.
"Fifteen years ago, as a pharmacist from Nigeria-the most populous Black nation on Earth-living in Wyoming, arguably the least diverse state in America, I knew that in addition to my training and education, I had to adapt my style to successfully care for my patients. I was trained in the British system and spoke British English, but soon realized that to succeed as a practitioner, I had to speak in a way my patients could relate to, and to learn and understand what they cared about and what they valued,' shared Dr. Ajayi. "My experiences in Wyoming and now in Arkansas have shown me that we must meet and develop leaders where they are. This will require us to think differently about what a leader looks like, where our leaders come from, and what formal training our leaders need."
Finally, ACCC will work with key stakeholders to broaden the coalition of the oncology workforce to reflect the growing complexity of cancer care and to realize more equitable cancer care delivery. "This will require all stakeholders working together to add new disciplines, diverse educational backgrounds, distinctive community voices, and unique experiences and perspectives into our cancer care delivery teams," urged Dr. Ajayi.
Robotics in the Oncology Pharmacy
Andre Harvin, PharmD, MS, MBA, shared how incorporating robotics into the oncology pharmacy facilitated efficiency at Cone Health Cancer Center. "By leveraging robotics and improving collaboration with nursing, we reduced average patient wait time by 30 percent," he said. "We also used robotics to compound medication ahead of time-this strategy saved 143 hours in [patient] wait time each month."
According to Dr. Harvin, growing healthcare costs pose a significant challenge to cancer programs and practices around the country. Further, Dr. Harvin believes that healthcare has been affected by the inflation rates that have and are still sweeping the nation. "High contract labor expenses, in addition to high salaries, are required to keep qualified employees," he said. "Healthcare has not been immune [to inflation rates, as] a lot of people exited the healthcare field." By leveraging robotics at Cone Health, Dr. Harvin and his team were able to devote their time to more pressing issues. "Now, I can have that pharmacist focusing on what they do that is unique, and that is being a drug expert who can answer questions for providers and patients," he said.
The NYC Nursing Strike
"There was moral distress. The nurses that had to walk away from that baby at 6:00 a.m., the nurses that knew that patients were going to come in for chemotherapy that day and they were not going to be there to see them-there was so much distress," said Una Hopkins, DNP, RN, FNP-BC, director of research at Montefiore Einstein Center Cancer Care, as she discussed the nursing strike that occurred in New York City earlier this year. "It is upsetting because I am a nurse."
Mark Liu, MHA, senior director of oncology strategy, transformation, and analytics, Oncology Service Line at Mount Sinai Health System & Tisch Cancer Institute, echoed Hopkins' sentiment on the issue-where more than 7,000 nurses in NYC walked off the job and went on a three-day strike in early January. "We aim for perfection, but, in moments of crisis, there is a lot to handle," he said. According to Liu and Hopkins, burnout, stress, and a reduced workforce contributed to the NYC nursing strike. "It wasn't about salary. It was about fighting for safer staffing ratios and not wanting to take care of patients in hallways," Hopkins explained.
To supplement the gap in care created by the strike, Hopkins' team sought the services of travel nurses. "We knew we were going to add travel nurses, but they are expensive," she said. "I onboarded 485 nurses in three days." Her team also employed specialty nurses to assist in care delivery at her cancer program.
The impact of the NYC nursing strike also affected different members of the multidisciplinary cancer care team. "Our respiratory therapists, our nurses' aides, who were not in the same contract, our unit secretaries, they were all impacted," said Hopkins. "The impact was real for everyone. It wasn't just nurses."
Moving forward, Liu and Hopkins believe it is incumbent for health systems and/or hospitals' leadership to ensure workplace satisfaction-thereby reducing the risk of a strike among other groups within healthcare.
Creating a Real Impact
"This conference will have an impact on improving cancer care delivery on Monday morning," said ACCC Immediate-Past President David R. Penberthy, MD, MBA, medical director, Radiation Oncology at Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center, at the conclusion of #AMCCBS. The inclusion of small-group deep dives and expert-driven general sessions gave attendees unique insights and strategies to take home to improve operations at their program or practice. Looking forward, ACCC will continue to provide resources and tools based on the conversations at #AMCCBS to facilitate the delivery of comprehensive, high-quality, and equitable cancer care to patients.
CONNECT WITH ACCC
* Find resources online: http://accc-cancer.org
* Learn about membership: mailto:[email protected]