Jun 26, 2013
ASCO and the American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Care Medicine (AAHPM) are collaborating on a joint initiative to support delivery of high-quality palliative care in medical oncology. The initiative, funded by the Agency for Health Care Research Quality, aims to address the complex care needs of patients with advanced cancer, including relief or prevention of symptoms—one goal of palliative care in oncology practice.
The three-year project will create a virtual learning collaborative (VLC), a web-based technology platform, to efficiently and broadly disseminate evidence-based palliative care approaches in oncology. The VLC will include coordinated, customized learning modules, social networking capabilities on ASCOconnection.org, and a toolbox of evidence-based resources to help translate the latest research into practice.
Twenty-five oncology practices from around the country will be recruited to participate in a structured practice improvement pilot project, enabled by the VLC. Pilot practices will report data on palliative care quality using ASCO’s Quality Oncology Practice Initiative (QOPI®). They will share best practices and resources through the VLC and benefit from expert and peer guidance as they implement local improvements. Qualitative and quantitative evaluation will assess oncology practitioners’ perceptions of the VLC, assess the effect of the VLC on performance related to primary palliative care, and inform additional refinements to the platform and the toolbox of content and resources.
Ultimately, project leaders aim to provide a proven palliative care toolbox to all ASCO members for use in their practices and to leverage the VLC platform to address other targets for practice improvement.
The three-year project will create a virtual learning collaborative (VLC), a web-based technology platform, to efficiently and broadly disseminate evidence-based palliative care approaches in oncology. The VLC will include coordinated, customized learning modules, social networking capabilities on ASCOconnection.org, and a toolbox of evidence-based resources to help translate the latest research into practice.
Twenty-five oncology practices from around the country will be recruited to participate in a structured practice improvement pilot project, enabled by the VLC. Pilot practices will report data on palliative care quality using ASCO’s Quality Oncology Practice Initiative (QOPI®). They will share best practices and resources through the VLC and benefit from expert and peer guidance as they implement local improvements. Qualitative and quantitative evaluation will assess oncology practitioners’ perceptions of the VLC, assess the effect of the VLC on performance related to primary palliative care, and inform additional refinements to the platform and the toolbox of content and resources.
Ultimately, project leaders aim to provide a proven palliative care toolbox to all ASCO members for use in their practices and to leverage the VLC platform to address other targets for practice improvement.