WASHINGTON (Feb. 11, 2014) — A recently published paper from the George Washington University Cancer Institute (GWCI) shares how the Institute worked collaboratively with its clinical affiliate, the GW Medical Faculty Associates, to meet new standards from the American College of Surgeon’s Commission on Cancer that are slated to go into effect in 2015. The new standards include development and implementation of a comprehensive patient navigation program, a distress screening process, and a survivorship clinic.
GWCI Director Mandi Pratt-Chapman and co-authors outlined their patient-centered care efforts, which included finding ways to:
- Expand and enhance their patient navigation program;
- Establish a distress screening process;
- Continue to refine its survivorship services; and
- Expand technical support to other institutions to catalyze patient-centered care practices regionally and nationally.
“Patients and accrediting bodies are demanding that health care systems do better at helping patients navigate the health care maze and ensuring quality services,” said Pratt-Chapman, who is also an adjunct instructor of clinical research and leadership at the GW School of Medicine and Health Sciences (SMHS). “One of the hallmarks of the GW Cancer Institute is that we continually share what we learn with others. There is such a huge cancer burden in this country. We all have to work together to improve patient-centered care practices more broadly.”
The paper in Oncology Issues, a journal published by the Association of Community Cancer Centers (ACCC), also noted that GWCI was a recipient of the ACCC 2013 Innovator Award. The Institute, housed within SMHS, was recognized as a top 10 cancer program in developing and pioneering solutions to address the challenges of treating cancer patients.
Additional authors of the paper include Heather Kapp, MPH, LICSW, director of cancer care access and quality at GWCI; Anne Willis, MA, director of the division of cancer survivorship at GWCI; and Jennifer Bires, MSW, LICSW, OSW-C, program coordinator of patient support services and community outreach at the GW Medical Faculty Associates.
