Devon Womack
President
As we reflect on the past year, it’s clear that meaningful change doesn’t happen in isolation. It grows from shared commitment, collective effort, and the relationships we nurture along the way. Progress this year came through collaboration—working side by side with practices in The Network to create solutions that make a lasting difference for providers and the patients they care for. We focused on building connections and laying the foundation for sustainable growth, to continue delivering exceptional care close to home well into the future. Through thoughtful partnerships and innovative approaches, The Network is positioning itself to meet the needs of tomorrow.
The Network Today: Strength and Momentum
This year, our footprint continued to grow by welcoming Florida Cancer Specialists & Research Institute along with a number of new practices that joined current partners like Millenium Physicians (Texas Oncology), ChristianaCare (Medical Oncology Hematology Consultants), and Colon and Rectal Surgical Associates (Minnesota Oncology). We also renewed our agreement with Southern Cancer Center, reinforcing our shared commitment to community oncology.
Through these new practices and strategic recruiting efforts for other practices, we welcomed over 900 new providers to existing practices in The Network—expanding expertise and strengthening care teams to meet the evolving needs of patients and communities.
This scale matters because it highlights our national reach and the ability to keep care close to home for patients while providing strong support for practices. Behind these numbers are real results that amplify the collaborative efforts, the strength, and the momentum of The Network and the impact we are making together.
Here are a few highlights from 2025:
- Accelerate: In early November, we joined 1,500 other physicians, clinicians, practice leaders, and industry experts in Las Vegas for the inaugural McKesson event to ignite the future of community oncology.
- Clinical Research: Our partnership with SCRI boosted trial enrollment by 33%, which not only improves patient access to cutting-edge clinical therapies but also can help achieve better outcomes.
- Technology: Over 1,000 providers have leveraged DeepScribe AI for ambient AI noting, saving on average 2-3 hours per week, helping to reduce provider burnout.
- Patient Experience: Across The Network, patient access has increased, leading to a 70% reduction in patient wait times across our practices.
- Value-Based Care: Through the Enhancing Oncology Model (EOM) performance periods 1 & 2, our efforts delivered $88 million in gross savings for Medicare compared to benchmark, with Network practices representing over 50% of patients, reinforcing our commitment to leadership in high-quality, cost-effective care.
- Advanced Therapies: We are bringing next-generation cancer care into community settings through bold investments, practice-led resources, and integrated surgical partnerships that create true centers of excellence. All practices in The Network support bispecific therapies, with several offering options for CAR-T, and over half of our practices providing radiopharmaceutical treatment options to patients.
- Public Policy: Physician-led engagements, such as congressional fly-ins and targeted Capitol Hill visits, actively lobbied Congress to advance site-neutral reimbursement policies, ensuring community oncology practices receive equitable payments regardless of care setting, and influenced other issues, including telehealth access, prior authorization reform, and cancer screening policies.
- Precision Medicine: Through the Precision Care Companion program, 12 practices across The Network are advancing personalized cancer care in the community. This initiative integrates education, clinical support, technology, data analytics, and best practices to bring precision oncology closer to home for patients.
However, when we talk about growth and momentum, it’s not just numbers – growth means something deeper.
Investing in Practices
In 2025, we committed over $114 million in capital investments to strengthen practices and expand access to care. From modernized patient facilities at Virginia Cancer Specialists, to expanded service lines at Maryland Oncology Hematology that bring more services closer to home for patients, and new spaces for advanced therapies at Compass Oncology and Texas Oncology —these investments reflect our commitment to keeping cancer care local, accessible, and ready for the future.
Maryland Oncology Hematology, Compass Oncology, Virginia Cancer Specialists, Texas Oncology
Meeting modern-day oncology challenges head-on demands a strategic partnership, scalable infrastructure, and innovation that works in the real world.
Looking Forward
The future of The Network is being shaped every day—through decisions, pilots, and conversations that reflect the shared commitment of our partners. Together, we are defining what success looks like and co-creating the next chapter of cancer care.
As we move forward, we’ll continue building this momentum—exploring new ideas, strengthening partnerships, and finding innovative ways to support practices and patients. We’re proud to navigate the future together. Because excellence in cancer care has a network.
Gaps in health equity can contribute to sub-optimal outcomes
Maximizing the opportunities of achieving the best possible outcomes for cancer patients goes beyond the confines of the clinic. Addressing the needs of patients requires understanding and overcoming challenges related to socioeconomic factors and the environment. These challenges, often referred to as Social Drivers of Health (SDoH), encompass the conditions in the environments where people are born, live, grow, eat, play, and die.
SDoH can significantly impact an individual’s health outcomes and overall quality of life, as well as their access to quality medical care. When patients face obstacles in any of these areas, seeking healthcare or following through with their treatment plans becomes difficult. Therefore, it is crucial to help patients overcome these challenges and remove barriers that hinder their ability to concentrate on their treatment.
By assessing and addressing SDoH, we can enhance patients’ access to care and promote optimal outcomes. This approach not only improves their quality of life but also contributes to a more equitable healthcare system. By focusing on the needs of cancer patients beyond the clinic, we can make a significant impact on their treatment journey and ultimately improve their chances of achieving the best possible outcomes.
Challenges addressing SDoH barriers in community oncology
Addressing SDoH barriers comes with its own set of challenges for community oncology practices. Limited staff, tight budgets, and short appointment times make it difficult to comprehensively screen and connect patients with resources. Additionally, navigating fragmented social service systems and respecting patient privacy can add further complexity. In particular, rural community oncology practices must find innovative solutions to overcome these difficulties, which may be less accessible in rural areas, and ensure that patients receive the support they need to address their SDoH barriers.
Three practices in The US Oncology Network (The Network) – Shenandoah Oncology, Southern Cancer Center, and Willamette Valley Cancer Institute & Research Center – have experienced firsthand the difficulties patients encounter in accessing the resources needed to address SDoH barriers. Navigators had to manually search for social service programs, often finding outdated or inactive options, causing delays in connecting patients with appropriate services and causing frustration. Additionally, the limited availability of programs further hindered the ability to find solutions tailored to each patient’s specific needs.
Despite these hurdles, there’s growing support for integrating SDoH efforts into community oncology practices, with resources being developed to help connect patients with social services in their community. The Network has made it a priority to help patients address SDoH barriers so they can access high quality care, within their community.
Connecting patients to social services with The Network and Findhelp
To address the increasing socioeconomic and environmental challenges faced by cancer patients, The Network has partnered with Findhelp, a platform that assists in navigating social services, community resources, and referrals for patients. This collaboration allows for a more comprehensive level of support, efficiently connecting patients with the necessary assistance they require. By doing so, it promotes optimal outcomes for individuals who are often disadvantaged by various circumstances, thereby bridging the gap in health equity.
The implementation of Findhelp has brought significant improvements to Shenandoah Oncology, Southern Cancer Center, and Willamette Valley Cancer Institute & Research Center in their quest to connect patients with the social services they need. The platform has transformed the referral process, allowing practices to track the availability and activity of programs, ensuring patients are referred to active and relevant services. The ability to filter programs based on eligibility criteria has significantly improved efficiency, eliminating the need for manual searches through irrelevant options. Findhelp has also expanded the range of available programs, empowering navigators to educate patients on how to utilize the platform effectively to find the assistance they require. This has not only increased the accessibility of resources for patients but also enhanced the overall patient experience.
By implementing Findhelp, The Network has successfully addressed the challenges practices faced prior to its adoption. The result is a streamlined referral process, improved patient access to vital resources, and increased efficiency for navigators. From June 2023 to June 2024 practices in The Network referred 3,116 patients to community-based social services. Findhelp has truly made a positive impact on practices in The Network, enabling them to provide comprehensive and effective support to their patients.
“Ensuring health equity is not just a moral imperative, but a crucial step in providing the highest standard of care for all cancer patients. At The Network, we recognize the disparities that exist and are committed to level the playing field to provide equal access to quality care. By partnering with Findhelp, we are empowering practices within The Network to assist their patients in finding the social services they need to navigate their cancer journey with dignity and achieve the best possible outcomes.”
“Findhelp has given me the ability to look for a broader scope of social service programs that are available for patients and be able to educate patients on how they can use Findhelp to look for assistance for themselves or others.”
“Being a part of The Network and utilizing Findhelp has been a game-changer for our practice in helping our patients overcome social drivers of health barriers. With the support of this collaborative platform, we are able to connect our patients with vital community resources and services they need, addressing the underlying barriers and empowering them to access life-changing treatment.”
The Network’s ongoing commitment to empowering patients through addressing SDoH barriers
The Network is dedicated to making a significant impact in addressing SDoH barriers. With a firm commitment to this cause, The Network aims to increase closed loop referrals, a process in which Findhelp refers a patient to an agency and then follows up to ensure that the referral was completed and that the necessary services were provided, within 30 days post-referral by an impressive 65% during Fiscal Year 2024. This commitment is projected to positively impact over half a million patients, ensuring they receive the necessary support and resources to overcome SDoH barriers.
By actively working towards increasing closed loop referrals, practices in The Network demonstrate their dedication to providing comprehensive care to patients. This commitment will not only improve patient outcomes but also contribute to the overall well-being and quality of life for those facing cancer and SDoH challenges. The Network is proud to take a leading role in addressing SDoH and ensuring that patients receive the holistic support they need throughout their cancer journey.
By The Network’s editorial staff
As cancer care evolves at an increasingly rapid pace, The US Oncology Network stands at the forefront of community oncology, dedicated to advancing care and enhancing patient outcomes. Leading this charge is our new president Devon Dickey Womack, whose appointment marks a significant milestone in our journey towards setting new standards in oncology care. With an unwavering commitment and a visionary approach, she is poised to steer The Network through its next phase of growth and innovation, ensuring that we support practices as they continue to deliver best-in-class care.
With a 14-year tenure with The Network and McKesson, Devon is a familiar face and brings deep expertise and dynamic leadership to her new role. Most recently as the chief operating officer of The Network, she made great strides in ensuring practices have the resources they need to operate efficiently and deliver cost-effective, high-quality patient care. She led the launch of The Network’s “Time to First” strategy to improve patient access. Through this initiative, more than 70% of practices in The Network reduced the time for patients to complete their first consult with their oncologist.
Additionally, Devon continues to pave the way for research expansion with eleven practices in The Network entering into new research agreements with Sarah Cannon Research Institute (SCRI). We are already exceeding our initial treatment trial accruals goal, starting the fiscal year off strong. Our goal is to ensure that more patients have access to modern cancer therapies and treatment trials. Advancing cancer research to make these therapies a reality for everyone happens in the community setting.
Devon is deeply committed to the development and support of oncology practices and their ability to deliver top-tier care, aiming to support more than 25% of cancer patients across the nation. Under her leadership, The Network is continuing to double down on its focus on patient care models that encompass not only state-of-the-art treatments but also psychological and social support for patients and their families.
As she takes the helm of The Network, Devon is enthusiastic about the potential for transformative change in community oncology. Her vision encompasses a broad spectrum of initiatives aimed at enhancing patient care through technological innovation, precision medicine, operational excellence and practice growth.
“There is much to be optimistic about in the future of community oncology. Our commitment lies in providing cutting-edge care, right in your own backyard,” says Devon. “Together, we will ensure that patients receive world-class treatment, while fostering an environment where practices, physicians and care teams can thrive and make a lasting impact on their communities.”
As we embark on this exciting new chapter under Devon’s leadership, The Network is positioned not only to meet the current demands of oncology care but to anticipate and respond to future challenges. Her strategic vision, coupled with a relentless dedication to excellence, will guide The Network as the leader in community oncology, setting the standard for care, compassion and innovation.
