Day 1 of this year’s virtual Community Oncology Conference opened with a panel discussion that touched on all things related to the COVID-19 pandemic, with leaders presenting a unified front.
Day 1 of this year’s virtual Community Oncology Conference opened with the panel discussion, “Learnings From COVID-19: How Cancer Care Has Innovated & Evolved,” that touched on all things related to the pandemic, with leaders presenting a unified front on how they were able to adapt their practices, keep the lines of communication open, and remain flexible over the past 15 months.
Led by Barry Russo, MBA, CEO of The Center for Cancer & Blood Disorders and OneOncology, the elephant in the room was immediately acknowledged: how the pandemic has affected your practices and what lessons you will carry going forward.
Joining Russo to discuss how they reacted and remained resilient over this trying past year when it came to vaccine rollout, physical changes to office space, employees, telemedicine, cancer screenings, and patient safety and volume were:
Vaccines were up first, and Russo asked the gathered experts how they responded to vaccine availability and dealt with a seemingly uneven distribution of the 3 approved vaccines. For example:
A chief concern noted by the panelists was hesitancy toward vaccine acceptance, based on how fast the vaccines were formulated. Their solution: clear communication.
“The most common objection that I heard was a concern about how quickly the vaccine was formulated,” Perry stated. “There was a little suspicion there and I was able to discuss that with them. And I saw that the more clinical training one had, the more they were accepting of the vaccines.”
A passion for keeping everyone safe—staff, patients, and their families and caretakers—permeated the discussion, as did the fact that vaccine education and distribution to the most vulnerable patients was a joint effort. Russo himself noted, “That’s the pitch we sort of made to the county and the state: cancer patients are the group of folks that are most vulnerable.”
Following the conference’s opening address by cochair Jeffrey Vacirca, MD, FACP, CEO of New York Cancer & Blood Specialists and director of OneOncology—in which he noted that screenings in breast cancer and colon cancer alone dropped by 85% and 75%, respectively—the remainder of the discussion focused on these precipitous drops in cancer screenings over the past year, what the panelists needed to do to continue care as uninterrupted as possible for their patients, and what they believe the principal consequences will be.
How were they able to tackle this challenge head on, and most important, what did they do to ensure ongoing patient safety? By physically altering and adapting their spaces to introduce distancing measures, by instituting cleaning protocols and following CDC guidelines, by using telemedicine, by communicating and offering constant guidance, and by coming together as a team, they said.
“We've spoke openly and candidly and been transparent through the whole COVID process,” Pichoske noted. “Most individuals that work in oncology really have such a passion for patients and families and want to be part of keeping them safe. It's been a joint effort.”
During these times, patient prioritization often intertwined with telemedicine.
“We had to reach out to the patients and sort of decide which patients really needed to come to the office,” Perry stated. “We focused on those patients who are on active treatment and toward anyone who really needed to come. We did move to telemedicine very early as everyone else did.”
Of course, none of this was easy, with temporary office closures and lack of necessary equipment in the beginning, but productivity seemingly never faltered, despite patient volume ebbing and flowing with the spikes in virus numbers.
For Gordan and FCS, it was all about camaraderie, cooperation, and delivering the best care possible at all times. “People came together to help each other out. I think all of us were able to retain focus on patient care and delivering the best care possible—despite the adversities.”
“Normal” may not have been the norm in the beginning of the pandemic, but the panelists continuously emphasized how they did all they could to normalize operations, with Pichoske and Perry noting they have resumed normal operations and Gordan noting that FCS will start migrating to this beginning May 1.
And although telemedicine is seemingly here to stay, it is now the exception, as Gordan summarized, “There’s a role for telehealth, and I think that should continue to be available and can exist. But it’s quite impressive that there's a significant desire to have that connection, that in-person examination, that human touch.”
What lessons will they carry forward from all of this, Russo asked at the discussion’s conclusion, with there being a high likelihood of a surge in late-stage cancer diagnoses and mortality, as well as a devastating impact that could last for years?
“We need reliable sources of information, because the media distorts everything,” Perry stated. “Everything that we do is based on reliable information.”
“We need continual communication, to always stay strategically ahead of the ‘what-ifs,’” Pichoske answered.
“We need resource management, to get the right information that is properly vetted and data driven to the communities, our patients, and our team members,” Gordan stressed.
And most of all, there always needs to be that focus on patient care at the community oncology level, they agreed.
Looking Back on ISPOR 2024: Hot Policy Topics, Welcome Focus on Employers, and More
May 10th 2024Kimberly Westrich, MA, chief strategy officer of the National Pharmaceutical Council, reflects on the most valuable learnings from the 2024 meeting of ISPOR—The Professional Society for Health Economics and Outcomes Research, including lively discussions of the Inflation Reduction Act and workshops on value assessment.
Read More
Frameworks for Advancing Health Equity: Urban Health Outreach
May 9th 2024In the series debut episode of "Frameworks for Advancing Health Equity," Mary Sligh, CRNP, and Chelsea Chappars, of Allegheny Health Network, explain how the Urban Health Outreach program aims to improve health equity for individuals experiencing homelessness.
Listen
Posters Characterize DMD Caregiver Experiences, Impact of Gene Therapy on Caregiving Demands
May 10th 2024Posters presented at the ISPOR—The Professional Society for Health Economics and Outcomes Research meeting explored Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) caregiver experiences and gene therapy’s impact on work opportunities for caregivers.
Read More
Tackling Health Inequality: The Power of Education and Experience
April 30th 2024To help celebrate and recognize National Minority Health Month, we are bringing you a special month-long podcast series with our Strategic Alliance Partner, UPMC Health Plan. Welcome to our final episode of this limited series and our conversation with Janine Jelks-Seale, MSPPM, director of health equity at UPMC Health Plan.
Listen
Breast Cancer Treatment Disparities Impact Survival Based on Race, Age, Socioeconomics
May 9th 2024A new study has linked racial and ethnic disparities with factors like age, income, and insurance to breast cancer treatment decline. Patients who received all treatments had better survival, highlighting the need for interventions to improve access and reduce disparities.
Read More