John Ruggiero, PhD, MPA, BCS

Although recognized as best practice, regular integration of shared decision-making (SDM) approaches between patients and oncologists remains an elusive goal. It is clear that usable, feasible, and practical tools are needed to drive increased SDM in oncology. To address this goal, we convened a multidisciplinary collaborative inclusive of experts across the health-care delivery ecosystem to identify key principles in designing and testing processes to promote SDM in routine oncology practice… Show more

Although recognized as best practice, regular integration of shared decision-making (SDM) approaches between patients and oncologists remains an elusive goal. It is clear that usable, feasible, and practical tools are needed to drive increased SDM in oncology. To address this goal, we convened a multidisciplinary collaborative inclusive of experts across the health-care delivery ecosystem to identify key principles in designing and testing processes to promote SDM in routine oncology practice. In this commentary, we describe 3 best practices for addressing challenges associated with implementing SDM that emerged from a multidisciplinary collaborative: (1) engagement of diverse stakeholders who have interest in SDM, (2) development and validation of an evidence-based SDM tool grounded within an established conceptual framework, and (3) development of the necessary roadmap and consideration of the infrastructure needed for engendering patient engagement in decision-making. We believe these 3 principles are critical to the success of creating SDM tools to be utilized both within and outside of clinical practice. We are optimistic that shared use across settings will support adoption of this tool and overcome barriers to implementing SDM within busy clinical workflows. Ultimately, we hope that this work will offer new perspectives on what is important to patients and provide an important impetus for leveraging patient preferences and values in decision-making. Show less

Timely and appropriate biomarker testing guides evidence-based treatment decision-making in advanced non-small cell lung cancer (aNSCLC). American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) and National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) guidelines recommend that all treatment-eligible patients with non-squamous, or squamous histology in non-smokers undergo EGFR and ALK biomarker testing prior to initiating first line therapy. Genentech’s Learning and Clinical Integration team and Flatiron Health… Show more

Timely and appropriate biomarker testing guides evidence-based treatment decision-making in advanced non-small cell lung cancer (aNSCLC). American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) and National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) guidelines recommend that all treatment-eligible patients with non-squamous, or squamous histology in non-smokers undergo EGFR and ALK biomarker testing prior to initiating first line therapy. Genentech’s Learning and Clinical Integration team and Flatiron Health explored the frequency of EGFR/ALK testing and overall time between advanced disease diagnosis, results receipt and treatment initiation in clinical oncology practices. Show less

Abstract In recent years, commercial funding for continuing medical education (CME) has
dropped significantly. Yet, little has been written about how this might affect CME in
oncology, a field in which new drugs and advances emerge at a rapid pace. This study
examines the role oncologists and oncology fellows say that CME plays in their ongoing
professional development and their attitudes about the potential and realistic impact upon
both the dissemination of medical… Show more

Abstract In recent years, commercial funding for continuing medical education (CME) has
dropped significantly. Yet, little has been written about how this might affect CME in
oncology, a field in which new drugs and advances emerge at a rapid pace. This study
examines the role oncologists and oncology fellows say that CME plays in their ongoing
professional development and their attitudes about the potential and realistic impact upon
both the dissemination of medical information and the impact on patient care if commercial ... Show less

Background: A significant thrust within recent innovation has been focused on improving the quality of diagnostics and system adherence to guidelines; equally important are attempts to improve patient-specific therapy plans, or personalized medicine. These two approaches—quality improvement and personalized medicine—have equally laudable goals toward improving cancer care and outcomes, yet have not been fully examined for their concomitant impacts, particularly among and within… Show more

Background: A significant thrust within recent innovation has been focused on improving the quality of diagnostics and system adherence to guidelines; equally important are attempts to improve patient-specific therapy plans, or personalized medicine. These two approaches—quality improvement and personalized medicine—have equally laudable goals toward improving cancer care and outcomes, yet have not been fully examined for their concomitant impacts, particularly among and within interprofessional teams, in which a mix of health care providers present varied foci within the oncology care delivery process. Methods: Twenty phone-based qualitative interviews were facilitated with community-based medical oncologists in active practice in July 2012. Transcripts of the interview sessions were examined through grounded qualitative analysis, and overall findings are presented. Results: Included within the link. Show less

A paper recently presented at the 2012 CME Congress in Toronto, Canada, May 30th - June 2nd. Looked at what would happen to oncology CME, if commercial support were eliminated. This paper was authored by John Ruggiero, PhD, MPA, CCMEP; Mazi Abdolrasulnia, PhD, MBA; Caroline Robinson, PhD; Stephen Burton, MS. It was supported by Genentech, Inc. and CE Outcomes.

Oncology is an area of rapidly changing medical evidence, and the public health consequences are high if there is a failure… Show more

A paper recently presented at the 2012 CME Congress in Toronto, Canada, May 30th - June 2nd. Looked at what would happen to oncology CME, if commercial support were eliminated. This paper was authored by John Ruggiero, PhD, MPA, CCMEP; Mazi Abdolrasulnia, PhD, MBA; Caroline Robinson, PhD; Stephen Burton, MS. It was supported by Genentech, Inc. and CE Outcomes.

Oncology is an area of rapidly changing medical evidence, and the public health consequences are high if there is a failure among US clinicians to translate evidence-based medicine (EBM) to clinical practice. This research aimed to examine the role of independent medical education in meeting the professional development needs of practicing oncologists.

In this research, the authors evaluated the perceptions of practicing US-based oncologists and oncology fellows to identify the discrete elements of CME that they consider of value when selecting CME programming, their perceptions of industry support of CME, and their perceptions of the impact of the removal of commercial support on the practice of EBM and related patient outcomes. The authors sought to identify the foreseeable long-term implications of diminishing industry support for CME among oncologists, in light of the ever-expanding innovation and emerging therapies that are the hallmarks of their field. Show less