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Interprofessional Issues

Novel, Interprofessional Approach Enhances Bed Assignments for Individuals on Antineoplastic Drugs in a Hospital Setting

August 22, 2024

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Nurse Empowerment

How AI Can Support Oncology Nurses’ Spirit of Inquiry

August 15, 2024

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Cancer Center’s New Treatment Guideline Streamlines Nursing Time, Sustains Patient Safety

Implementing a standard guideline for nursing management of patients receiving new U.S. Food and Drug Administration–approved chemotherapy, immunotherapy, and biotherapy decreased 1:1 patient–nursing hours by nearly 65% and saved more than $100,000 per year at one health system in south Florida, a team of nursing leaders reported in a poster presentation at the 49th annual ONS Congress^® in April 2024.

Symptom Management

An Oncology Nurse’s Guide to Cancer-Related Ocular Toxicities

More than 40% of patients receiving antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) will experience ocular toxicities during treatment, ONS members Caroline Clark, MSN, APRN, OCN^®, AGCNS, EBP-C, and Ikuko Komo, MSN, CNS, NP, AOCNS^®, AOCNP^®, reported in an article in the April 2024 issue of the Clinical Journal of Oncology Nursing.

Caregiver Support

Better Bereavement and Palliative Care Priorities Are Needed Internationally

Palliative and bereavement care should be a health policy priority, an international team of public health scientists reported in Lancet Public Health. They called for interprofessional health workers, organizations, and systems to “shift bereavement care from an afterthought to a public health priority.”

Genetics & Genomics

Interprofessional Genetic Cancer Prevention Clinic Centralizes Care for Patients and Providers

By coordinating and implementing cancer risk reduction strategies, promoting cascade testing, and promoting genetics-related cancer research, one institution’s new genetic cancer prevention clinic improved surveillance, additional testing, discovery of new pathogenic variants, and overall patient satisfaction, a team of oncology nurses and other healthcare professionals reported during a poster presentation at the 49th annual ONS Congress^® in April 2024.

Cancer Healthcare Advocacy

Bipartisan, Bicameral Bill Could Modernize Medicare Payments for Radiation Therapy

For many cancers being treated with radiation therapy, evidence-based standards of care have transitioned to shorter treatment courses. However, Medicare’s outdated fee-for-service approach penalizes radiation oncologists for following those best practices. In May 2024, bipartisan lawmakers introduced a new bill in the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate that would “modernize Medicare reimbursement for radiation therapy, safeguard access to high-quality cancer treatments, improve patient outcomes, and reduce health disparities while generating savings for Medicare,” the legislators said in a May 15 press release.

National Cancer Institute (NCI)

Virtual Clinical Trials Office Supports Onsite Staff to Increase Participation in NCI-Sponsored Studies

By providing a centralized team of support staff—including research nurses, clinical research associates, and clinical data specialists—the National Cancer Institute’s (NCI’s) Division of Cancer Treatment and Diagnosis said it hopes to remove the research staffing challenges many of its sites have experienced since the COVID-19 pandemic. The agency announced the launch of its pilot Virtual Clinical Trials Office program in February 2024.

U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)

Represent Nursing’s Voice in FDA’s Oncology Center of Excellence’s Pragmatic Clinical Trials

Nurse advocates have an incredible opportunity to represent patients and the profession in shaping the future of patient-centered pragmatic clinical trials. Through July 5, 2024, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA’s) Oncology Center of Excellence is crowdsourcing clinically relevant trial questions for FDA-approved therapies in its innovative Project 5 in 5 initiative.

National Cancer Institute (NCI)

NCI Assembles Team of Leading Researchers to Transform Future of Cancer Health Equity

The Cancer Equity Leaders is a diverse team of premier cancer research leaders working under the National Cancer Institute (NCI) Center to Reduce Cancer Health Disparities. NCI announced the group and its members in an April 2024 blog post.

Cancer Healthcare Advocacy

Former NIH Director Francis Collins Announces Aggressive Prostate Cancer Diagnosis

Lifting the veil on prostate cancer and sharing lifesaving information, former National Institutes of Health (NIH) Director Francis S. Collins, MD, PhD, revealed in April 2024 that his active surveillance, slow-growing prostate cancer had advanced to a Gleason score of 9. Collins made the announcement in a Washington Post perspective piece in which he accounted his experience from both a patient and clinician lens.

Cancer Treatments

Drug Shortages Reach an All-Time High; HHS Announces New Strategies and Policy Considerations

A record-breaking 323 drugs are currently in shortage in the United States, according to April 2024 ASHP data. In tandem timing, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced its plan to prevent and mitigate drug shortages and proposed new solutions for policymakers to consider in an April 2024 white paper.

Specific Populations

Specialized Center Customizes Care for Growing Population of Patients With Young-Onset CRC

Incidence rates of young-onset colorectal cancer (YO-CRC) in otherwise healthy individuals aged younger than 40 have increased 2% per year during the past four decades, and the trend is projected to continue for at least another 10 years. YO-CRC can have a significant psychological impact on adolescents and young adults (AYAs), and the population needs specialized nursing care.

Nurse Well-Being

Critical Event Debriefings Can Reduce Oncology Nurses’ Risk of Compassion Fatigue and Burnout

Using a formal framework for a team debriefing after an emotionally challenging critical event can create a positive learning experience, initiate process improvements, and ultimately offer nurses and other healthcare professionals psychological support that reduces burnout and compassion fatigue, ONS members Molly Joyce, MSN, APRN, OCN^®, and Joanne Itano, RN, PhD, reported in an article published in the February 2024 issue of the Clinical Journal of Oncology Nursing.

Cancer Healthcare Advocacy

Nurses Help 20 Patients Reduce or Quit Smoking After Advocating for Pilot Cessation Program

More than 30% of patients with cancer who used tobacco stopped or reduced their use after participating in an oncology nurse–led tobacco cessation program, Rochelle J. Lonn, RN, DNP, NE-BC, OCN^®, reported in an article for the February 2024 issue of the Clinical Journal of Oncology Nursing. The author projected that the quit and reduction rates would have a per lifetime savings of $102,600 and a per premature death cost avoidance of $511,200.

Cancer Moonshot

ARPA-H’s Revolutionary New Treatment Program Will Transform Outcomes for Americans With Cancer

In March 2024, the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H) announced a new program to achieve the Cancer Moonshot goal: the Advanced Analysis for Precision Cancer Therapy, a “visionary collaboration between scientists, clinicians, and patients that will usher in a new era of cancer care by harnessing advanced technologies to provide a deeper understanding of and treatment response to tumor biology.”

Oncology Nurse-Patient Relationship

Stop Stigma and Discrimination in Health Care to Improve Equity and Patient Outcomes

Stigma is a deep-seated social construct that “profoundly discredits an individual or a group from being whole, causing them to be viewed as less desirable, harmful, or weak.” It infiltrates all corners of society, but when experienced in health care, it can contribute to health inequities and poor health-related outcomes.

Cancer Healthcare Advocacy

House Committee Launches Investigation Into Nationwide Shortages of Medications, Including Cancer Drugs

The U.S. House Committee on Oversight and Accountability in late February 2024 called pharmaceutical companies to provide more information and a briefing to explain the ongoing shortages of several cancer drugs, including carboplatin, cisplatin, and methotrexate; amoxicillin; and stimulant medications.

Oncology Nurse-Patient Relationship

Here’s How the 21st Century Cures Act Is Affecting Patients and Healthcare Professionals

The latest in a line of legislation designed to promote health information technology interoperability and reduce information blocking, the 21st Century Cures Act began implementation in 2020. Since then, patients, nurses, and the entire healthcare team have appreciated benefits while also confronting challenges—namely with patients having immediate access to their health information and results before their nurse or other healthcare professional can explain the results in context.

Cancer Health Disparities

As Global Cancer Burden Rises, Many Governments Have Inadequate Funds to Support Cancer Services

An estimated 35 million new cancer cases will be diagnosed in 2050, the World Health Organization (WHO) reported in February 2024, a 77% increase from the estimated 20 million cases in 2022. Yet according to survey responses across 115 countries, most parts of the world do not have sufficient funding for cancer and palliative care services, WHO said. Additionally, the data showed “striking inequities in the cancer burden” based on the Human Development Index and “significant global inequities in cancer services” between high- and low-income countries.

February 26, 2024

Access to Cancer Care

Legislators Ask HHS to Partner With Congress for Telehealth Bill

A bipartisan group of lawmakers is urging the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to work with the U.S. Congress to ensure that Medicare beneficiaries maintain access to telehealth. Led by U.S. Senator Brian Schatz (D-HI), the group sent HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra a letter on January 29, 2024, making the case for permanent telehealth legislation before the current waivers expire at the end of 2024.

February 19, 2024

Palliative Care

Patients With Cancer Underuse Hospice Care, Often Because of Disparities

Most patients who die from cancer do not use hospice at the time of their death, ONS member and oncology nurse researcher Dena D. Shore, PhD, RN, OCN^®, CNE, reported in an article published in the December 2023 issue of the Clinical Journal of Oncology Nursing (CJON). According to her literature review, cancer-related, ethnic and racial, and geographic disparities are frequently involved in delayed or nonuse of hospice care.

February 13, 2024

Specific Populations

Trust and Engagement Improve COVID-19 Vaccination Uptake for Marginalized Groups Affected by Cancer

Marginalized groups are exposed to higher burdens of chronic conditions and have historically experienced more health disparities compared to their White counterparts because of structural racism, Those vulnerabilities put them at higher risk for severe COVID-19; however, marginalized groups are less likely to receive the COVID-19 vaccine, nurse scientist Ijeoma Julie Eche-Ugwu, PhD, MPH, FNP-BC, AOCNP^®, CPHON^®, BMTCN^®, and nurse educator Nadia Alcindor, RN, MSN, reported in the February 2024 issue of the Clinical Journal of Oncology Nursing.

February 02, 2024

Oncology Nurse Pride

Public Ranks Nurses Highest for Providing ‘Excellent’ Health Care

Nurses are at the top of the U.S. public’s list of high-quality healthcare providers, according to the results of a new Gallup poll assessing opinions about the care provided in the U.S. healthcare system.

January 29, 2024

Access to Cancer Care

This Week's Advocacy News: 'New Biden Rule Cracks Down on Insurers’ Use of Prior Authorization'

A new Biden administration rule released Wednesday aims to streamline the prior authorization process used by insurers to approve medical procedures and treatments. Prior authorization is a common tool used by insurers but much maligned by providers and patients, who say it’s often used to deny provider-recommended care.

January 26, 2024

Patient Advocacy

Medical Shortages Are Affecting Patient Safety

Unavailability of necessary drugs, supplies, and equipment—including an increasing number of lifesaving drugs with no viable alternatives—because of shortages are “making it nearly impossible to provide safe, high-quality patient care in a fiscally responsible manner,” healthcare professionals across a variety of disciplines reported on a 2023 ECRI and Institute for Safe Medication Practices survey.

January 22, 2024

National Cancer Institute (NCI)

NCI’s Childhood Cancer Data Initiative Funds Eight New Data-Driven Studies

Developing new scientific questions and cutting-edge analytical tools, promoting better research collaboration, and propelling new discoveries in treatment and care, the National Cancer Institute’s (NCI’s) Childhood Cancer Data Initiative granted administrative supplements to fund eight new studies in December 2023.

January 19, 2024

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To report a content error, inaccuracy, or typo, email pubONSVoice@ons.org.

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Elisa Becze BA, ELS, Editor

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