Blog

By Marcus Neubauer, MD, Chief Medical Officer

Our Annual Conference at the end of last month marked our first in-person event for The Network since before the pandemic, and it was so energizing to feel the collective power of The Network as leaders, physicians, and clinicians came together to connect with peers and learn about new developments both in The Network and across community oncology.

This year’s conference included expert panels, breakout sessions, a dynamic keynote speaker, and, perhaps most importantly, face-to-face interactions among peers. The Annual Conference is an exclusive opportunity for member practices in The Network to gain actionable insights they can immediately put to work in their practices to benefit the operational and financial health of their business and enhance patient care. The oncology landscape is rapidly evolving, and we were fortunate to hear from our experts in the field on topics that included surgery, radiation, value-based care, precision medicine, clinical trials, public policy and more.

As I reflect back on the event, here are my takeaways:

The power of The Network is immense – and growing

In Jason Hammonds’ opening session, he shared that The Network is experiencing one of its strongest periods of growth, welcoming nearly 500 providers in the past year and making The Network over 2,300+ providers strong. The evolution of The Network is evident in our support of practices as they expand their footprints as well as adding new practices in new geographies to our collective power.

And the need for community oncology is growing, as more patients look for high-quality, cost-effective care close to home. Practices in The Network are well positioned to rise to the demands of what patients need in the coming years.

Across The Network, we have a keen focus on expanding patient access and enhancing the patient experience

The patient is at the center of everything we do – and I heard this thread run throughout our conference.

Devon Womack detailed in her session how one of our top priorities is to reach more patients and reduce the operational burden on practice staff by using technology in new, innovative ways. Sydney Townsend shared her own personal cancer story and how that propelled her into her current role at Texas Oncology where she is focused on initiatives to transform the patient experience, such as advancing digital health tools and expanding supportive care services.

While the business of oncology care is complex and the services that The Network provides to practices are comprehensive, it was invigorating to hear colleagues in different roles across the organization echo a shared vision for how we can continue to be a leader in providing oncology care close to home – all in service of the patient at the center of what we do.

Innovation will propel us forward

Finally, it was exhilarating to learn more about the countless ways our teams are innovating to meet the current needs of practices and patients and also preparing for the future.

Innovation is a key priority for The Network, and Jason shared more about investments that the business has made in areas such as personalized medicine and interoperability. But innovation is also happening in teams across The Network, and I was struck by the dedication of colleagues to think about old problems in new ways!

I left the Annual Conference with a feeling of pride to be a part of The Network – and excited about what is to come. It had been four years since we last held The Network’s Annual Conference due to the disruption of the pandemic and it was great to interact with the leaders from practices in person.

Until next time!