We spoke with Olivia Barrett about her experience with Flatiron Assist, data reporting at her practice, the Oncology Medical Home pilot program and more.
Joining us today From the Community is Olivia Barrett, the Healthcare Business Analyst at Hematology Oncology Associates of Central New York.
Flatiron: Thank you so much for speaking with us today about Flatiron Assist. You’ve used Flatiron Assist since May 2020 - can you tell us about what the decision making process to select FA was like?
Olivia: We adopted Flatiron Assist to empower our physicians, and give them up-to-date evidence-based treatment options at their fingertips. The integrated workflow of Flatiron Assist with OncoEMR made Flatiron Assist an obvious pathway & clinical decision support option for us. With Flatiron Assist surfacing, and prioritizing, appropriate regimens for physicians based on key clinical and prognostic factors, we are driving value with every treatment decision.
It’s important that we support our physicians in providing the highest quality care, and Flatiron Assist is an important tool in doing so. Knowing that evidence is embedded within the NCCN regimens that Flatiron Assist surfaces, accounting for regimen efficacy, safety, affordability and quality/consistency of the evidence, Flatiron Assist helps us provides our physicians with an extra layer of assurance when choosing the most appropriate regimen for a patient.
Flatiron Assist provides our physicians with an extra layer of assurance when choosing the most appropriate regimen for a patient.
Flatiron: How have you approached driving adoption at your practice and keeping the organization aligned - between your doctors, admins, APPs, and nurses?
Olivia: Our rollout of Flatiron Assist was very methodical, which promoted a successful implementation. Initially, the rollout of FA was limited to just a few providers as we tested the waters. Although adopting FA was not without its challenges, we then pushed it to all providers. During our implementation, we provided ongoing support, worked alongside our providers, and relied heavily on communication between our pharmacists, providers, EMR Coordinator, and Flatiron as we supported our team in early phases of implementation.
Working hand-in-hand with providers and regularly seeking feedback from our providers allowed us to better streamline processes as additional disease categories were rolled out. We also got feedback with providers, in terms of pathway utilization, and this helped us identify areas for additional provider support and education.
Flatiron: How has working with FA improved your data reporting insights?
Olivia: First, it has allowed us to better understand our treatment patterns across patient populations. The related Flatiron Assist data, such as: pathway utilization, concordance rates and preferred regimen utilization rates is powerful data, and can increase awareness and spark important conversations between physicians.
Further, the robust Flatiron Assist dataset allows us to look at outcomes associated with certain treatment regimens and patient populations, thus facilitating the development of tailored interventions and promoting higher quality care.
The related Flatiron Assist data…is powerful data and can increase awareness and spark important conversations between physicians.
Flatiron: What aspect of FA has driven the most value for your practice?
Olivia: The enhanced reporting capabilities associated with Flatiron Assist have added value to our practice. The ability to readily demonstrate pathway utilization and adherence to the widely-accepted National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) treatment guidelines is an advantage that we can leverage when engaging in value-based contracting, can assist in streamlining prior authorizations, and can help inform key quality improvement initiatives at our practice.
The ability to readily demonstrate pathway utilization and adherence to the widely-accepted National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) treatment guidelines is an advantage that we can leverage when engaging in value-based contracting, can assist in streamlining prior authorizations, and can help inform key quality improvement initiatives at our practice.
Flatiron: How has Flatiron Assist made an impact on your participation in the ASCO & COA Patient-Centered Cancer Care Certification?
Olivia: Our cancer clinic strives to achieve higher value for our patients, and value-based care programs like the ASCO-COA Oncology Medical Home (OMH) pilot program aligns with our patient-centered and value-based mission.
The OMH pilot program recognizes the importance of evidence-based clinical pathways in advancing the delivery of high-value care and optimizing patient outcomes. Our participation in OMH has helped drive the development of a governance process for the management and oversight of Flatiron Assist utilization and compliance, and Flatiron Assist has allowed us to seamlessly report the required metrics for the OMH pilot program.
Flatiron: Thank you so much again Olivia for speaking with us and sharing your experience, we greatly appreciate it!
