Crystal Run Healthcare Oncology Care Model Abstract Selected For Poster Presentation at the American Society of Clinical Oncology’s Quality Care Symposium

Dr. Manuel C. Perry Jr., MD, Katie Rudy-Tomczak, MS, FNP-BC, and Scott Hines, MD presented from September 27^th-29^th

Crystal Run Healthcare Oncologist Manuel C. Perry, MD, along with Oncology Nurse Practitioner Katie Rudy-Tomczak, MS, FNP-C and Chief Quality Officer and Endocrinologist, Scott Hines, MD, were recently selected to present their quality data at the American Society of Clinical Oncology’s (ASCO) Quality Care Symposium. Their poster presentation titled ‘A Process for Improving Patient Survey Scores in the Oncology Care Model (OCM)’ outlines their practice transformation process and highlights dramatic results. The Quality Care symposium encompasses the latest strategies and methods for quantification of patient experience, provider efficiency, clinical outcomes, and quality and safety in the cancer care field, bringing together top leaders in the oncology field to share ways to improve measurement and implementation of quality and safety in cancer care. ASCO is one of the largest organizations of oncology providers in the world with a commitment to research, education and quality improvement.   

In 2016, Crystal Run Healthcare was one of 192 practices across the country selected to participate in The Oncology Care Model (OCM) - an alternative payment model created by The Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) whose goal is to provide higher quality, more highly coordinated oncology care at the same or lower cost to Medicare.  Crystal Run’s OCM Program was implemented to facilitate access to care and patient education in an overall effort to improve the patient experience. An education program was created for patients beginning cancer treatment by scheduling a 90-minute meeting with a nurse practitioner after an initial consultation with an oncologist. Under the new model, patients are given a written treatment summary with details regarding their upcoming treatment course, expected side effects and benefits, ways to stay healthy as well as a review of any problems they may be having with their diagnosis or treatment.

Hiring certified oncology nurse practitioners helped the multi-specialty group with nine oncologists achieve this goal. CMS administered anonymous patient surveys addressing access, effective communication, exchanging information, enabling patient self-management, and shared decision making which showed an overall improvement rating from the 11^th - 20^th percentile (prior to OCM implementation) to the 71^st-80^th percentile with the most improvement in shared decision making from the 11^th-20^th percentile to the 91^st-99^th percentile after the implementation of the nurse practitioner access program.   

“We are honored to have had our quality improvement data accepted for presentation at the annual ASCO Quality Symposium. Our data reflects that a commitment to patient education and adequate time for discussion translates into an improved patient experience,” said Manuel C. Perry, MD, oncologist and hematologist at Crystal Run Healthcare.