Groundbreaking event brings together thought leaders from across the nation.
The American Cancer Society held its first-ever Cancer Care at Home Summit Oct. 26 in Cambridge, MA, bringing together high-level leaders and stakeholders across the nation to help define barriers to delivering cancer care at home.
Organized by the Patient Support Pillar, this unique event was designed to identify not only barriers to at-home cancer care, but also ways to address them – so together this group could create a vision and clear steps forward.
The event was held at the Philips North America Innovation Center, who contributed the unique space for the meeting.
“Cancer care is rapidly evolving. Though much attention is given to new and more personalized treatments, how those treatments are delivered, and how those patients are supported, also are key areas positioned for personalization,” said ACS Chief Patient Officer Dr. Arif Kamal. “One tactic growing in favor to increase patient-centricity is decentralized care, where the infrastructure and processes to cure cancer and forward the science is brought to the locations that patients reside.”
An elite group of more than 30 executive leaders including CEOs, chief medical officers, EVPs, directors, and others attended this invitation-only event from multiple sectors and organizations, including providers, investors, payors, researchers, policy makers. Their coming together was a “real sign of thought leadership in a very fragmented area,” Dr. Kamal said. “Each person was able to contribute to defining the problem and setting opportunities that ACS can steward going forward.” Organizations represented ranged from United Health Group to the US Oncology Network, the Mayo Clinic, Walmart, and many others.
The group focused on four major issues in cancer care at home:
- Logistical/supply chain issues,
- Financial/payment concerns,
- Challenges with federal regulations, and
- Patient and clinician acceptance.
“This movement holds significant possibility to close health disparities and improve outcomes, but without careful planning and execution, may produce the opposite effect,” Dr. Kamal said. “Our charge as national leaders across multiple sectors is to discuss the knowns, the unknowns, and the potential success factors and challenges, to ensure that all facing a cancer diagnosis have an equal and just opportunity for more, better days.”
“One of my priorities is to create collaborations with pivotal organizations in cancer care delivery, particularly those at the forefront of innovation,” he said. “This is a terrific example of one of those key innovations. I couldn’t be more pleased with how this inaugural event turned out and I look forward to continuing the work this group kickstarted together.”
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