Study Reveals Significant Practice Gaps for Oncologists Treating Renal Cell Carcinoma

As part of the 2014 ASCO Genitourinary Cancers Symposium, Clinical Care Options (CCO), a Reston-based provider of innovative continuing medical education (CME), presented findings on practice gaps and barriers to optimal care for patients with renal cell carcinoma (RCC). The American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) announced that the presentation was one of the “8 noteworthy studies among more than 500 abstracts” to be presented at the 3-day meeting.

“CCO is honored to have our study named among the most noteworthy presentations at the Genitourinary Cancers Symposium,” said Trish Bates Doolin, General Manager, CCO Oncology. “As part of our commitment to improving patient outcomes, we strive to consistently assess and create innovative continuing medical education programs that address key clinical practice challenges.”

CCO partnered with the Annenberg Center for the Health Sciences and AXDEV Group for the study, entitled “Professional Practice Gaps and Barriers to Optimal Care of Renal Cell Carcinoma (RCC) Among Oncologists in the United States.” The study was supported by an unrestricted grant from Pfizer.

The researchers compared oncologists’ responses to treatment case studies with optimal answers based on National Comprehensive Cancer Network kidney cancer guidelines and evidence-based opinions of two RCC experts. The findings revealed clinically relevant practice performance gaps that affect delivery of care and patient health outcomes.

Conclusions

“Not recognizing predictors of poor risk or the importance of evaluating clinical symptoms can result in missed opportunities to change treatment strategy, leading to suboptimal outcomes. These results will support design of educational programs and performance improvement interventions.”

As this study shows, CME is critical to healthcare provider’s ongoing educational needs as they strive to stay current with the advances of medical science. Cancer treatment options like RCC demand physicians stay on top of the latest breakthroughs. Continuing medical education companies utilize innovative methodologies to offer physicians this information, which leads to better care for patients.