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Steeplechase Cancer Center Provides Patient-centered Care in Community Setting

Steeplechase Cancer Center at Somerset Medical Center in Somerville, New Jersey, was established in 2007 in response to community needs for easily accessible high-quality cancer care. The center is named for the steeplechase horse race, held each October in the neighboring community of Far Hills, New Jersey. Proceeds from the race are donated to the center and go to support expanded facilities and services.

ACCC President Focuses on Evidence-based Medicine and the Impact of Healthcare Reform

Al B. Benson III, MD, FACP, took the helm as president of the Association of Community Cancer Centers (ACCC) at its 36th annual meeting, held March 19, 2010, in Baltimore, Maryland. Dr Benson, a member of the ACCC board since 2003, is a professor of medicine in the Division of Hematology/Oncology at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago.

Establishing Relationships between a Cancer Center and Private Practice Physicians

Many community cancer centers desire to offer prospective multidisciplinary case conferences for their patients. However, various business models can be set up to achieve this goal. In this interview, Nancy Harris, administrator of St. Joseph Hospital, The Center for Cancer Prevention and Treatment in Orange, California, discusses how her community center established relationships with its providers, all of whom are in private practice. Along the way, she notes some practical concerns for other administrators looking to use a similar practice model.

Is Commission on Cancer Accreditation Right for You?

The American College of Surgeons’ Commission on Cancer (CoC) is a consortium of professional organizations working to improve survival and quality of life for cancer patients. Through the CoC Accreditation Program, cancer programs achieve benefits for themselves and for the patients they serve.

Evolution in Oncology Practice Management: Part 2

Bayonne, New Jersey—As demand for their services grew and it became increasingly clear that their practice was becoming a regional center for patients battling cancer, the medical staff at Colanta Hematology & Oncology Center made the decision to build and open an outpatient infusion center that could adequately and comfortably serve their patients.

Smart Money. Part 2: Protecting Oncology Reimbursement

The days of plentiful allowances from health insurers, timely patient payments, and minimal medical necessity requirements are a fond memory. In Part 1 of this article (April 2010), we reviewed patient payments including coinsurance, deductibles, advanced beneficiary notices, and waivers of liability. In addition to patient payments, practices can streamline processes to protect oncology reimbursement.

New Approach May Freeze Out Breast Cancer

TAMPA, FL—In the first reported study, researchers in Detroit have found that image-guided, multiprobe cryo therapy may be able to successfully freeze breast cancer in women who do not undergo surgery. They presented data that show this approach appears to be highly effective with minimal discomfort for the patient.

Going for Gold with a Novel Treatment for Pancreatic Cancer

TAMPA, FL—Pancreatic cancer, acknowledged as the most fatal cancer with no known effective treatment, requires a radical new therapy. Now, researchers at Northwestern University in Chicago think they have come up with one. They presented for the first time a promising new approach in the form of gold nanoparticles.

CEP17 Breast Cancer Tumors Are More Likely to Respond to Anthracyclines

BARCELONA—Breast cancer patients with the chromosome enumeration probe 17 (CEP17) alpha satellite abnormality are more likely to have good outcomes from chemotherapy involving anthracycline antibiotics than women without the abnormality, according to new data released at the Seventh European Breast Cancer Conference.

John Bartlett, MD, with the University of Edinburgh in Scotland presented the results of a meta-analysis of four adjuvant breast cancer trials that enrolled a total of nearly 3000 women.

Operational and Financial Benchmarking for Oncology

As healthcare consumes a significant portion of the US budget, oncology services similarly consume a significant portion of any hospital’s budget.

Hypofractionated Salvage Radiotherapy May Be Beneficial for Postprostatectomy Biochemical Recurrence

SAN FRANCISCO—Hypofractionated radiotherapy (65 Gy in 2.5-Gy fractions) appears to be a convenient, safe, and efficacious approach to salvage therapy after radical prostatectomy, according to researchers from the University of Wisconsin. Looking at 108 men, investigators found that biochemical failure (increasing prostate-specific antigen levels) compared favorably with other studies. They presented their findings at the 2010 Genitourinary Cancers Symposium.

No, You Can’t Keep Your Health Plan

President Obama guaranteed Americans that after health reform became law they could keep their insurance plans and their doctors. It’s clear that this promise cannot be kept. Insurers and physicians are already reshaping their businesses as a result of Mr. Obama’s plan.