Blog Entry: November 3, 2011

In early October, ENACCT completed the first “Learning Session” for the NCCTPBC.  This was a major milestone for the collaborative. as each team was able to meet face to face for the first time with the staff, coaches, and faculty members and to start putting the collaborative into full action.  The following teams attended: 

·         Avera McKennan Hospital & University Health Center, South Dakota

·         Bayhealth Medical Center, Delaware

·         Georgia Health Sciences University Minority-Based CCOP, Georgia

·         Phoebe Putney Memorial Hospital, Georgia

·         The Queen’s Medical Center, Hawaii

·         The West Clinic, Tennessee

The teams were grounded in the methodology of the collaborative by ENACCT staff, clinical trial topic experts,  professionals who had conducted a collaborative in other therapeutic areas, a patient advocate, and team coaches.  The agenda was packed for the 2 days, and designed to create an atmosphere where participants could share ideas and ask a lot of questions. The teams were able to get a solid understanding of the collaborative framework and how to apply it.  During the breakout sessions and gallery walk (an activity in which teams met  with faculty members who had expertise in particular subject areas), I witnessed a lot of in-depth discussions between the teams, coaches, and experts.   Each team took full advantage of the time available to discuss barriers and challenges within their practices as well as potential changes. 

I could feel the energy and enthusiasm circulating the conference room for the two days. The importance of the collaborative, and the potential impact these 6 teams could have on the future care of cancer patients for all the attendees (teams, coaches, faculty, and ENACCT staff) was clear.  This meeting armed the teams  with the tools and confidence for making improvements in their practices.  Before leaving, each team had fulfilled the objectives of the meeting and mapped out at least one Plan-Do-Study-Act (PDSA) cycle focused on improving an accrual process within their practices. 

Albert Einstein stated “Insanity is doing the same thing, over and over again, but expecting different results.”  With the accrual rate of eligible patients in cancer clinical trials at around 3% in the US, how would we expect any improvement if the processes are not addressed and changes aren’t made?  These 6 teams are prepared to make such changes and develop sustainable improvements in their cancer clinical trial accrual processes. Their work will not only benefit their own practices, but could have wide-reaching impact for other organizations conducting clinical trials throughout the nation.