Oncology social workers are integral members of the multidisciplinary cancer care team, but their services are largely unreimbursed by payers, so cancer programs and practices must fund these positions from their bottom line. This, in turn, makes it challenging to hire additional oncology social work staff.

Hear about two new resources coming from ACCC to help demonstrate the value that oncology social workers play. In "Making the Business Case for Hiring an Oncology Social Worker," evidence-based data will show how oncology social workers help improve the quality of care and the patient experience, provide much needed support to other members of the multidisciplinary cancer team, and reduce costs of care. A new benchmarking survey will help uncover data to determine where psycho-oncology care stands for patients with cancer across the country and serve as a jumping-off point for future research.

Guest:

Krista Nelson, MSW, LCSW, OSW-C, FAOSW ACCC 2021-2022 President Program Manager of Quality & Research, Cancer Support Services & Compassion Providence Cancer Institute Portland, OR

Related Resources:

• Making the Business Case for New Staff
• Comprehensive Cancer Care Survey & Matrix
• [PODCAST] Ep 11: Sustaining Whole-Patient Cancer Care
• Real-World Lessons from COVID-19: Driving Oncology Care Forward
• Oncology Social Work Working Group
• [VIDEO PODCAST] Ep 01: Real-World Lessons from COVID-19
• [MINI-PODCAST] Ep 59: Collaboration and Innovation in the Time of COVID-19
• [MINI-PODCAST] Ep 64: A Summer of Disconnect for Cancer Professionals
• A Social Worker Leads ACCC, and Her Timing is Perfect