With Breast Cancer Awareness Month right around the corner, we’ll soon begin to see a proliferation of pink awareness ribbons, public service announcements, and fundraisers – be they three-day treks or three-hour silent auctions. By now, we are all familiar with the C word and its all-too unnecessarily common repercussions. It doesn’t take a comedy on Showtime, or a movie like 50/50 to familiarize most of us with the life changes that come with cancer; though I’m sure they do provide a bit of levity at a time when folks might need it most.

I’m not sure how high profile healthcare IT ranks in either form of the above entertainment (having never seen The Big C or the soon-to-be released movie 50/50), but I’m pretty sure it’s safe to say that each of these vehicles portrays their main characters discussing treatment and lifestyle changes with their community oncologists and physicians – the care team that most people turn to first.

McKesson Corp., a healthcare services and IT company, has formed a new division, McKesson Specialty Health, in an effort to highlight the role these community providers play, and the part healthcare IT has to play in helping them improve clinical outcomes when it comes to cancer and other specialties.

I recently chatted with McKesson’s Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Roy Beveridge, about the timing of the new division, and the likelihood of its services being used by physicians in coordinated care programs.

Why did McKesson want to establish this new division now?
RB: “McKesson established this new division when it acquired US Oncology and integrated its services and expertise with those of its specialty division, McKesson Specialty Care Solutions. When we were thinking about bringing these two organizations together, we knew and were excited about the value we could create for our customers and their patients. Now that nine months have gone by, we are fully integrated and have a broader array of services and offerings that we are very proud of. Our goal is to strengthen community-based physician practices through innovative technology, clinical support and business solutions.”

In your conversations with community care providers, was there a lack of healthcare IT solutions available specific to specialty physician practices? How will the new division address these needs?
“US Oncology and McKesson were already offering technology services that were specific to specialty physician practices. But together through the new division of McKesson Specialty Health, we are now able to address the needs of these practices even more efficiently. Just look at what we’ve been able to do with the iKnowMed electronic health record system and Lynx Mobile drug inventory management system. We’ve integrated the two previously separate systems, allowing oncology practices to have a single, comprehensive chemotherapy orders workflow management system. Oncologists with both products can order a drug in iKnowMed, which automatically communicates with Lynx Mobile, so when a patient arrives for an appointment, the drug is already in the inventory management system, ready to be pulled and tracked.

“We’ve had physicians tell us that ability has saved both them and their patients time. In fact, one physician has said that this ability has freed up a nurse manager who can now spend more of her time caring for patients rather than spending her time correcting charges manually. This is what our services are all about … enhancing services so practices can better serve their patients and raise the quality of care each patient receives. We recognize specialty practices are unique; their needs are unique as well, so we want to give them the tools tailored to address those unique needs.”

How do you envision McKesson Specialty Health solutions being used by providers who participate in accountable/coordinated care programs?
“McKesson Specialty Health is uniquely positioned to help physicians thrive amidst the shift to value-based reimbursement. In today’s quality-driven healthcare environment, our services can assist oncologists in balancing a commitment to provide excellent, efficient care while ensuring the ongoing business success of their practices.

“These services include our integrated technology platform, our know-how on the business and operational front, and our deep clinical expertise, which utilizes Level I Pathways and evidence-based treatment guidelines in order to better provide high-quality cost-effective care. Our expertise can help practices align reimbursement with payers while keeping the patient’s best interest at the forefront of all key decisions to create win-win-win solutions in the system.”

How do you envision the division’s offerings evolving in the next few years?
“We have a culture of constantly working to improve, enhance and expand offerings. Ultimately, we want to raise the quality of care patients receive. That goal keeps us motivated to always look at ways to evolve as a company, so we can better serve practices and they can better serve patients. I envision the division’s offerings evolving as specialty practices’ needs evolve.

McKesson Specialty Health supports The US Oncology Network, one of the nation’s largest networks of community-based oncology physicians dedicated to advancing cancer care in America. These like-minded physicians work closely with us to improve cancer care, and as their needs evolve, our services will as well.”

As October and its pink ribbons get closer, let’s hope the evolution of healthcare IT specifically for oncology is tied more closely to remission and cure than relapse and recurrence.
 

Jennifer Dennard is Social Marketing Director for Atlanta-based Billian's HealthDATA, Porter Research and HITR.com.