Katherine Enright, MD, MPH, of Trillium Health Partners in Ontario, discusses a model of quality improvement, which potentially could be adapted across health systems to improve oral systemic cancer care (Abstract 184).
Cardinale B. Smith, MD, PhD, of the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, discusses findings showing Black, Hispanic, and Asian patients with cancer used telehealth less often during the COVID-19 pandemic than White patients with cancer, a negative trend that will become more problematic as this method of care continues to increase through subsequent waves of coronavirus infection and plays a larger role in standard treatment (Abstract 87).
Melissa K. Accordino, MD, of Columbia University Medical Center, discusses findings showing nearly half of the patients with breast cancer treated at an academic center in New York City experienced a change or delay in their workup or treatment during the COVID-19 pandemic. Race and socioeconomic factors played a significant role (Abstract 88).
Joseph M. Unger, PhD, of Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, discusses study results showing that more than half of all patients with cancer, regardless of race or ethnicity, agree to take part in clinical trials, a finding that upends conventional beliefs. He talks about removing the barriers to help more patients participate (Abstract 92).
Cardinale B. Smith, MD, PhD, of the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, discusses results of a pilot study suggesting dedicated lay staff members, who facilitated admissions and discharges for patients with cancer across care settings, could improve health-care utilization, quality, and the patient experience (Abstract 6).
Anne M. Barry-Weers, RN, of Aurora Health Care/Aurora Cancer Care in Milwaukee, discusses strategies that helped patients with cancer to better manage their chemotherapy-related symptoms at home, thus reducing visits to the emergency department and inpatient admissions, and improving treatment costs (Abstract 11).
