ACCC AMCCBS 2024: On Location Interviews, Day 1

You can stream day 2 at 7 pm EST on March 1.

The American Journal of Managed Care^® (AJMC^®) is on site in Washington, DC, at the Association of Cancer Care Centers' (ACCC) 50th Annual Meeting & Cancer Center Business Summit.

We will be recapping some of the top information presented each day at the conference. But first, competition in community oncology took another turn today with the merger of two entities, the National Cancer Care Alliance (NCCA) and the Quality Cancer Care Alliance (QCCA).

The new organization, called ONCare Alliance, will be led by 2 of the leading women in community oncology, cochairs Barbara McAneny, MD, of the New Mexico Cancer Center, the founder of NCCA, and Sibel Blau, MD, of Northwest Medical Specialties of Puyallup, Washington, who was the CEO of QCCA.

The union of the 2 smaller independent practice groups comes as 2 other community oncology organizations, OneOncology and The US Oncology Network, continue to add practices to thrive in an increasingly competitive marketplace, amid challenges such as drug shortages and new regulatory requirements. For more, read our coverage.

On day 1, Hayden Klein, associate editor at AJMC, spoke with Kirollos Hanna, PharmD, BCPS, BCOP, director of pharmacy at Minnesota Oncology and assistant professor of pharmacy at Mayo Clinic College of Medicine, about his session on payer, manufacturer, and supply chain challenges in oncology. In this exclusive interview, they discuss the impact of the Inflation Reduction Act and other legislation and regulations in oncology, barriers around prior authorization, and more.

Klein also spoke with Alti Rahman, MHA, MBA, chief strategy and innovation officer at the American Oncology Network, about some similar topics, as well as his session on artificial and business intelligence (AI/BI) technology. In the interview, they explore the integration of AI in oncology while addressing ethical concerns, examine key factors in evaluating AI and BI solutions, and more.

The ACCC annual meeting kicked off with a session on organizational well-being, as well as deep dives into collaborative care delivery models and comprehensive cancer care. There were also a number of conversations on strategic collaborations within ACCC, updates and challenges in integrating electronic health records, and what oncology practices need to know to succeed under alternative payment models. You can check out more of this coverage on our website.

Read coverage and watch additional interviews from the meeting at AJMC.com.