April 7-9, 2022 • Hyatt Regency • Lexington, KY
Communication Strategies to Promote Comprehensive Well-being
Communication Strategies to Promote Comprehensive Well-being
Abstract: Aligning Quality Cancer Care across a Multi-Facility Network
The University of Kentucky Markey Cancer Center Affiliate Network (MCCAN) supports a network of community hospitals across Kentucky in achieving and maintaining Commission on Cancer (CoC) accreditation as a demonstration of their commitment to high-quality cancer care. MCCAN’s Quality Team works with each affiliate site to fulfill the quality standards required for CoC accreditation. Communicating and monitoring quality guidelines across a statewide network is essential to this endeavor, but also poses many challenges. Program leaders at the affiliate sites carry multiple responsibilities outside of CoC which can consume their attention. MCCAN Quality Coordinators must build rapport with the site’s cancer committee with little face-to-face interaction among committee members. There is a tendency to overcommunicate through numerous emails, surveys, and events. This can be counter-productive and often results in confusion and information fatigue. To overcome these challenges, the MCCAN Quality Team uses a framework of communication and support to guide compliance with CoC standards through education, network-wide initiatives, and ongoing technical assistance to affiliate sites. Education on the CoC standards is the framework’s foundation and serves to teach program leaders not only standard requirements, but also standard intent which can affect implementation. During monthly roundtables, the Quality Coordinators provide in-depth teaching on a standard, along with reporting templates and implementation examples. Speakers from the Markey Cancer Center or affiliate sites often share their best practices as well. The roundtable topics are generated by the concerns of the affiliate sites, so topics are pertinent and timely. While group education on the CoC standards is beneficial, a missing component has been practical examples of how to put best practices in place. To this end, the Quality Coordinators developed network-wide initiatives which affiliate sites could adopt for their programs to meet CoC requirements. These initiatives are presented as reproducible examples during the annual Quality Workshop. Participants receive verbal instruction, and an implementation packet which includes a rationale for the project, metrics and reporting templates, and step-by-step instructions. Finally, ongoing technical assistance to the affiliate sites reinforces the educational content and allows the Quality Coordinators to demonstrate applying the reproducible examples at each site’s facility. During monthly meetings with program leaders, the Quality Coordinator builds rapport with site staff by discussing program needs and resources to resolve any issues. Gap analyses and other quality reviews are provided in these meetings for the early identification and resolution of potential accreditation deficiencies. This systematic approach of teaching and applying CoC standards has proven effective as evidenced by MCCAN affiliate sites consistently maintaining CoC accreditation. Two network-wide initiatives were introduced as pilot projects in 2021, with six sites adopting the initiative to increase colorectal cancer screening, and eight sites adopting the development of an oncology quality and safety team. Nine initiatives have been proposed for 2022. Targeting communication and education, while offering hands-on initiatives and technical assistance are essential ingredients for attaining and maintaining high-quality cancer care standards across a statewide network.