Patients living with and beyond cancer often require care from a wide range of clinicians as they navigate cancer diagnosis, treatment, and survivorship care. A multispecialty and multidisciplinary workforce is critical to ensuring that all patients with cancer receive high-quality care.
This National Academies workshop, convened by the National Cancer Policy Forum in collaboration with the Global Forum on Innovation in Health Professional Education, examined opportunities to improve equitable access to multispecialty, multidisciplinary care for patients living with and beyond cancer. Workshop presentations and discussions focused on strategies to expand and strengthen the multispecialty and multidisciplinary workforce, particularly in underserved areas; approaches for enhancing health professional education across the spectrum of non-oncology clinicians to include best practices for the care of patients with cancer; opportunities for collaboration and information-sharing among members of a patient’s health care team across specialties and disciplines; payment and care delivery models to facilitate coordination and collaboration; and opportunities to strengthen the evidence base about the array of adverse effects of cancer and cancer treatment on patient outcomes, as well as interventions aimed at mitigating these effects.
Planning Committee
Larissa Nekhlyudov, Brigham & Women’s Hospital, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, and Harvard Medical School (Co-chair)
Lawrence Shulman, University of Pennsylvania Abramson Cancer Center (Co-chair)
Karen Basen-Engquist, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center
Smita Bhatia, University of Alabama at Birmingham
Robert Carlson, National Comprehensive Cancer Network
Gwen Darien, National Patient Advocate Foundation
Anita Gupta, Johns Hopkins University
Chanita Hughes-Halbert, University of Southern California Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center
Randy Jones, University of Virginia
Randall Oyer, Penn Medicine Lancaster General Health
Susan Schneider, Duke University
Robert Winn, Virginia Commonwealth University Massey Cancer Center