Scott Parker: Oncology Advocacy in the Community Setting
The Group Room sits down with Scott Parker, Executive Director at Northwest Georgia Cancer Centers, at the 2012 Community Oncology Alliance (COA) Annual Meeting. Scott talks about the mission of the COA Patient Advocacy Network (CPAN) and how patients in his cancer clinics are getting more involved.
The Group Room interviews at the Community Oncology Alliance (COA) 2012 annual meeting in Las Vegas was made possible by the generous support of our members.
VIDEO TRANSCRIPT
Selma Schimmel, Founder & CEO, Vital Options International
This is Selma Schimmel for The Group Room in Las Vegas at the Community Oncology Alliance meeting. This is our first meeting where we’re going to really get to understand what goes on in the community practice where the majority of cancer patients are seen. And I’m happy to welcome Scott Parker, Executive Director of Northwest Georgia Oncology Centers in Atlanta. Welcome.
Scott Parker, Executive Director, Northwest Georgia Oncology
Thank you.
Selma Schimmel, Founder & CEO, Vital Options International
Thanks for spending some time with us because we are going to talk about oncology advocacy in the community setting. First let’s talk about, what does it mean when we use the expression ‘oncology in the community setting.’
Scott Parker, Executive Director, Northwest Georgia Oncology
That’s pretty simple, it’s just independently owned physician practices that are scattered throughout the country. It’s where, I think, more than 80% of all of cancer care is currently delivered.
Selma Schimmel, Founder & CEO, Vital Options International
What is oncology advocacy in the community setting?
Scott Parker, Executive Director, Northwest Georgia Oncology
Well, advocacy to us is new. When COA developed the advocacy program, and I first met Rose Gerber, I told her I thought we had a group of physicians and staff that were going to be able to help her get the program up and running. To us, it’s getting the patients involved and not only in their clinical care, which they historically have been involved in, but it’s also getting them involved in what is happening from a legislative standpoint. From our standpoint, it is important for them and their caregivers to know what is being done in Washington. And the patients need to be aware of this, they need to get engaged, they need to have contact with their representatives in Washington. This advocacy network that we’ve developed allows us to reach out to those patients.
I think we’ve signed up more than 60 patients, so far, from our practice. And we’re fortunate, again, that we have physicians that support it. We’ve got a great staff and we’ve been able to identify someone in the practice that, it’s really their calling to work on behalf of patients and their caregivers.
Selma Schimmel, Founder & CEO, Vital Options International
Another question I have deals with the changing role of patients, not only in the arena of advocacy. And as a cancer survivor myself, I consider what I’m going to ask you a part of advocacy, but we hear a lot about electronic medical records, but there’s also the patient and personal health records or patient health records. How important do you think it is for patients to begin to get hold of their reports and their medical histories to have that sense of control and be able to, especially in a multidisciplinary area such as oncology, so many doctors are involved in needing to see patient records?
Scott Parker, Executive Director, Northwest Georgia Oncology
I think it is going to be important, and more so in the future. We implemented an electronic medical records back in 2006 and this year we’re getting ready to purchase a patient portal and that patient portal is going to allow 2-way communication back and forth between the clinics and our patients. It’s going to allow them to initially access their schedule, access certain test results, some of their notes, and eventually the technology is going to allow for texting back and forth to remind them of taking certain oral meds. So, technology and the electronic medical records is going to be more and more important in the future.
Selma Schimmel, Founder & CEO, Vital Options International
How do you think that we’ll be able to still keep, as technology evolves and more and more doctors do their consults with e-pads and iPads and things like that, how do you think that we can still maintain that very important human essence and the touch and the eye contact with so much technology coming between patients and doctors?
Scott Parker, Executive Director, Northwest Georgia Oncology
That is a good question and I think in oncology it’s going to be easy just because of the nature of the practice and the disease. I mean, our physicians still spend a lot of time with the patients when they’re having their follow-ups or before treatments. Plus, the patients are always connected with our nursing staff as they receive the chemotherapy. So, we’ve had the electronic medical records since 2006 and the way our doctors have approached it has not been intrusive at all; they still have plenty of face time with a patient, so it is still very personal.
Selma Schimmel, Founder & CEO, Vital Options International
What are some of the other practice changes that are rather remarkable to you over the 15-years that you’ve been doing your work?
Scott Parker, Executive Director, Northwest Georgia Oncology
Since the change in the reimbursement that has caused, again in our opinion, the drug shortages, we have through attrition and some layoffs, we reduced our staff by about 33%. We no longer have social workers, we no longer have counselors, chaplains; and quite frankly, like most community oncology practices, we’re struggling to stay independent. One of the unintended consequences of the changes in the legislation has resulted in, I believe, over 200 oncology clinics closing. And a lot of oncology clinics now are joining the hospital systems, which in some cases is creating access problems and it’s certainly creating a situation where the cost of care is higher. Cost of care is quite a bit higher in the hospital setting.
Selma Schimmel, Founder & CEO, Vital Options International
What would you like patients today in the community setting to know?
Scott Parker, Executive Director, Northwest Georgia Oncology
I would like them to know that there are resources out there within the community practices, like the COA advocacy network, that will allow them to at least start to learn what is happening from a legislative standpoint, and how that’s going to have a direct impact on their care down the road, and I think it’s just critical that they get involved. Sometimes it’s kind of intimidating to think about talking to your congressman or to your senator, but the key thing you need to remember is they work for us. Sometimes the decisions they make have unintended consequences and COA has been out there trying to educate them as to what some of those consequences are, and unfortunately we’re starting to see some of them come to bear. So just get involved.
Selma Schimmel, Founder & CEO, Vital Options International
I commend your efforts. I think that this has been a void in the private practice setting and I think it’s imperative for patients to understand that advocacy begins with being your own advocate, a self-advocate.
Scott Parker, Executive Director, Northwest Georgia Oncology
You said it better than I did.
Selma Schimmel, Founder & CEO, Vital Options International
Thank you very much, Scott Parker- Executive Director of the Northwest Georgia Oncology Centers in Atlanta, Georgia. Thank you so much.
Scott Parker, Executive Director, Northwest Georgia Oncology
Sure.
END OF VIDEO