Long-Term Strategies to Strengthen Community Oncology

In the evolving landscape of oncology care, community practices play a vital role, delivering the majority of cancer treatment across the US. However, Nini Wu, MD, MBA, chief medical and development officer of Navista, a Cardinal Health company, explains that the COVID-19 pandemic dealt a major blow to the healthcare workforce. This depleted not just oncologists, but also nurses, triage staff, and front- and back-office personnel.

In a recent interview with Targeted Oncology^TM, Wu emphasized that rebuilding this infrastructure is not just about hiring physicians; it is about restoring the entire clinical team.

“They are critical. It is a team that treats patients; it is not just one person,” explains Wu.

She outlines several long-term strategies to rebuild and sustain this workforce. First, she stresses the importance of training exposure during fellowships. Many oncology fellows are trained in academic centers with limited visibility into the community setting, where most patients receive care. By integrating community-based rotations and partnerships between academic and community sites, more trainees can experience firsthand the rewards and challenges of community oncology.

She also advocates for incentivizing rural and underserved placements, such as Medicare-supported residency or fellowship positions in oncology, similar to existing primary care incentives. This could help address geographic disparities in cancer care access.

Wu also explains that a critical component of this strategy is empowering advanced practice providers (APPs), who often enter oncology without specialized training. Dedicated onboarding and oncology-specific APP fellowships or certification programs could help integrate them more effectively into community teams.

Overall, Wu shares how these long-term investments aim to stabilize and strengthen the future of community oncology, ensuring that care is available and accessible to the growing number of patients diagnosed each year. As cancer care becomes increasingly complex, this team-based, forward-looking approach is essential to meet the demands of a changing patient population.