ASCO has announced that Amy P. Abernethy, MD, PhD, FACP, has agreed to chair a new CancerLinQ™ Advisory Committee within the Institute for Quality, an ASCO affiliate dedicated to innovative quality improvement programs, that will guide this multiphase effort. The advisory committee consists of leaders in a wide range of relevant fields, including oncology, health outcomes, epidemiology, and health information technology. The committee will advise on the design and implementation of the full system throughout its development.

Dr. Abernethy, a medical oncologist and palliative medicine physician, is a tenured Associate Professor in Duke University Schools of Medicine and Nursing, Director of the Duke Center for Learning Health Care in the Duke Clinical Research Institute, and Director of the Duke Cancer Care Research Program in the Duke Cancer Institute.

“CancerLinQ™ truly has the potential to transform the way we understand and treat cancer,” said Dr. Abernethy. “I am excited to be part of a project where we can improve the quality of cancer care for all patients by learning from each of them.”

The Institute will also be establishing additional, sector-specific subcommittees of external advisors to provide more perspectives as CancerLinQ™ is developed and implemented. Future groups will include patient and physician advisory subcommittees, as well as a technology advisory subcommittee.

CancerLinQ™ is supported by the Conquer Cancer Foundation of the American Society of Clinical Oncology. CancerLinQ™ is a project of ASCO’s Institute for Quality. For more information, please visit: www.asco.org/cancerlinq. ■