New NCI/ASCO Project Applies Theoretical, Empirical, and Practical Evidence on Teamwork to Oncology Care

Jan 30, 2015

ASCO and the National Cancer Institute (NCI), in collaboration with the Journal of Oncology Practice (JOP), have launched a project to apply the science of team-based health care delivery to oncology clinical care. The project will apply the most recent scientific findings about teamwork, team effectiveness, and team performance to the oncology care setting, with the goal of increasing the effectiveness of health care teams—a goal that is of vital importance as oncology care increasingly moves to a team-based paradigm.

NCI and ASCO will select team researchers and oncology clinicians to form writing teams to work together to apply the principles of team-based care to specific clinical settings in the context of patient-centered scenarios. A joint working group will select clinicians from a variety of oncology clinical settings (institutional, academic, and private practice) and researchers working on issues relevant to the effectiveness of health care teams. The researchers and clinicians will discuss specific clinical care scenarios, apply select principles of team-based care, and write a manuscript that discusses the process and outcomes associated with applying the science of team-based care. The writing teams will present their work at an NCI–ASCO public workshop held in conjunction with ASCO’s 2016 Quality Care Symposium. At the workshop, the teams will solicit feedback from workshop attendees and incorporate revisionsfor submission to JOP.

A supplement is planned for JOP that will feature key findings about teamwork that have implications for team performance and team research in the complex environment of medical care delivery. The supplement will include an introduction briefly describing the health care context and process and case examples of cancer care by teams, covering topics such as team process, emergent states, effectiveness, and performance.

The overall project will be informed by a pilot researcher-clinician writing team appointed by ASCO and NCI.The pilot team includes a medical oncologist, nurse practitioner, internist, radiation oncologist, and team researchers who are pioneers in the field. The pilot team drafted a manuscript and solicited feedback from an advisory group, and the process will inform selection of future cases and writing teams. The pilot team submitted the manuscript to JOP in January 2015. NCI and ASCO also submitted a manuscript to JOP that will provide a summary of the evidence of effective strategies for team-based care. For more information about the project, please contact workforce@asco.org.

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