When keynote speaker Susan Dentzer, health policy expert and Senior Policy Fellow at the Duke-Margolis Center for Health Policy, spoke on "Disruptive Innovations that Could Change the Delivery of Cancer Care" last year at the ACCC 46th Annual Meeting, no one could have imagined the massive disruption heading toward the U.S. health care system. Dentzer's remarks focused on the positive disruptions needed to modernize a health care system built on a care delivery model still requiring that patients and providers always be in the same place, face-to-face.
By mid-March 2020, in response to the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) had started to issue waivers and flexibilities, allowing Medicare to cover telehealth visits as if the visits were conducted in person. Providers pivoted quickly, redesigning their policies and processes to enable telehealth, working to minimize care disruption while maximizing patient and staff safety. Thus, it was the tragic devastation and danger engendered by the SARS-CoV-2 virus that drove the necessity for rapid implementation of telehealth services.
Over the course of 2020-a year of exceptional disequilibrium-the oncology community pulled together, sharing information, best practices, clinical updates, and insights from the front lines to the C-suite. Across ACCC, members were able to lean in and lean on each other for knowledge sharing and support.
While the COVID-19 pandemic spotlighted the many flaws in the U.S. health care delivery system, the past year demonstrated what can be accomplished when the oncology community comes together. As a multidisciplinary organization, ACCC continues to create opportunities for all oncology stakeholders to join together to exchange viewpoints and discuss the way forward.
To have a 360-degree understanding of the drivers shaping the future of cancer care delivery, communication across all sectors of the oncology ecosystem is needed. ACCC encourages all stakeholders to take a seat at the table.
To help its membership navigate the next steps in value-based care and strengthen the multidisciplinary team voice in the future of cancer care delivery, ACCC is excited to welcome Kristin Ferguson, DNP, RN, OCN, as Senior Director of Cancer Care Delivery and Health Policy. She brings more than a decade of experience in oncology care reflecting not only the versatile skill set oncology nurses command, but also the expanding roles nurses play in cancer care delivery.
In addition to clinical experience in both the inpatient and outpatient setting, Ferguson has served as a clinical research coordinator, a nursing coordinator, and as a nurse administrator at an NCI-designated cancer center. She serves on the Oncology Nursing Society board, and has participated in ONS advocacy initiatives, interned with the Community Oncology Alliance, and volunteered extensively in her community.
Wearing a number of different hats as an oncology nurse, Ferguson has had an opportunity to work with multidisciplinary cancer care teams in a number of care settings. "Especially in the role of clinical nurse coordinator, you are navigating the patient through a variety of settings and helping them to connect to different providers-from social work, to the dietitian, to therapy, medical oncology, surgical oncology, infusion nurses, financial navigators-you're helping to make those connections," she said.
"I've really enjoyed working with all these different professionals and seeing how their specific role impacts the patient. That's what is so exciting about ACCC. We support all of those different professionals, and we bring content and deliver benefits to all of these members."
ACCC encourages cross-discipline communication and leadership that, in turn, can help nurture professional and organizational vitality and resilience. "Our current president is a medical oncologist and our president-elect is a social worker. You don't see that in a lot of organizations," she said.
"I appreciate that diversity of thought, because I believe when people come at problems from different angles that only strengthens the resolutions and the initiatives you can create around those problems."
This spring, Ferguson, ACCC members, and stakeholders from across oncology will come together virtually at the ACCC 47th Annual Meeting & Cancer Center Business Summit, March 1-5. Real-world case studies will demonstrate how to lead through change, accelerate digital health capabilities, transform business operations and care processes, and enhance the patient and provider experience. In a climate of ongoing uncertainty, complexity, and relentless change, the ACCC 47th Annual Meeting & Cancer Center Business Summit offers an opportunity to experience equilibrium while gaining perspective on priorities and how best to prepare for challenges to cancer care delivery on the horizon. Learn more at accc-cancer.org/annualmeeting.
"We want to continue building momentum against cancer as we move forward in 2021," said Ferguson. "Having the support for staff, being able to provide resources, understanding what the communities' needs are, these are important pieces of ACCC's mission. We're looking forward to working together to strengthen care delivery for our members and for patients with cancer."
Connect With ACCC
* Find resources online: accc-cancer.org
* Learn about membership: mailto:[email protected]