Collaboration among partners who can deliver different elements of cancer care — whether nearby or distant — is vital to meeting patients’ varied needs, panelists said at the 2025 Patient-Centered Oncology Care Conference in Nashville.
Moderator Emily Touloukian, DO, FASCO, president and CEO of Coastal Cancer Center in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, said oncology is a team sport and effective partnerships help assemble the right team for patients.
Josh Eaves, chief development and strategy officer for Florida Cancer Specialists & Research Institute, described partnerships that span clinical services and health systems. FCS operates arrangements in which it cares for all oncology patients at partner systems, including employees, and has extended services to complex offerings such as cellular therapy bundles. Eaves said FCS generally avoids traditional joint ventures when financial outcomes do not align among members.
Casey Chiasson, MBA, executive director of Willamette Valley Cancer Institute in Oregon, highlighted collaborations with a local hospital and the Oregon Cancer Foundation, and said university medical centers play a role in raising community awareness through joint events and outreach.
Kimberlee Rowett, DNP, MSN, MBA, RN, LNC, teleoncology clinical manager at Intermountain Health, described multi-state operations and a recent partnership with the Tanana Chiefs Conference in Fairbanks, Alaska, aimed at keeping cancer care local for rural patients. Intermountain uses infusion centers as local cancer departments supported by telehealth so consultations and many treatments can occur without long travel.
Rural limitations remain a challenge when hospitals lack capacity for procedures such as bone marrow biopsies or PET/CT scans. Navigation programs are used to minimize travel when patients must go to distant centers for advanced diagnostics or treatments.
Panelists said partnerships most often begin with a shared problem to solve. Chiasson said defining the problem together sets a constructive tone; partners can start with referral relationships before deciding whether to formalize arrangements. Eaves advised organizations to assess what they lack and what they hope to gain before entering formal agreements.
Building trust requires alignment on goals, site visits, scheduled check-ins and attention to cultural differences. Rowett recounted adjusting telehealth camera placement after partner feedback that a ceiling-mounted camera felt like surveillance for some patients, illustrating the need for open dialogue and mutual trust.
Long-term partnership health depends on buy-in from all stakeholders, including staff who may fear change. Panelists recommended frequent communication, a shared vocabulary to avoid misunderstandings, mechanisms to hold partners accountable and the use of data to supplement narrative. Intermountain published a white paper documenting patient savings and institutional revenue effects to support stakeholder acceptance.
When balanced carefully, partnerships among hospitals, clinics and health systems expand access to timely, comprehensive oncology care that individual locations may not be able to provide alone.
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