Turning Fragmented Cancer Data into Actionable Insights w/ Karen Schmidt

Cancer moves fast. Patients and their medical teams need to move faster.

A study by Q-Centrix revealed that many hospitals face an unacceptable year-long data backlog in oncology.

When crucial data about diagnosis, staging, and treatments gets held up, it can cost patients valuable time, resources, and treatment opportunities.

In the latest episode of HealthBiz Briefs, guest Karen Schmidt, VP Oncology Market Lead at Q-Centrix, discusses why accurate and timely data is critical in cancer treatment and how improved data practices can lead to better outcomes and potentially life-saving care.

This episode is brought to you by BetterHelp. Give online therapy a try at https://betterhelp.com/caretalk and get on your way to being your best self.

As a BetterHelp affiliate, we may receive compensation from BetterHelp if you purchase products or services through the links provided.

🎙️⚕️ABOUT CARETALK
CareTalk is a weekly podcast that provides an incisive, no B.S. view of the US healthcare industry. Join co-hosts John Driscoll (President U.S. Healthcare and EVP, Walgreens Boots Alliance) and David Williams (President, Health Business Group) as they debate the latest in US healthcare news, business and policy.

🎙️⚕️ ABOUT KAREN SCHMIDT
Karen Schmidt is the VP Oncology Market Lead at Q-Centrix, bringing over 17 years of experience in cancer registry to her leadership role. A cancer survivor herself, Karen combines professional expertise with a personal commitment to improving cancer care. She leads her team in advancing the Cancer Registry Profession, enhancing the quality of cancer data, and turning data into actionable insights. Her focus is on delivering top-notch support to cancer programs nationwide, with the ultimate goal of elevating patient care and outcomes through superior data management and innovative solutions.

🎙️⚕️ ABOUT Q-CENTRIX
Q-Centrix is a leader in healthcare data management, offering the industry's first Enterprise Clinical Data Management (eCDM™) approach. This solution combines AI-driven technology with the largest team of clinical data experts and insights from over 1,200 healthcare partners. Q-Centrix addresses various clinical data needs—including oncology, cardiovascular, trauma, and research—enhancing quality measurement and improvement. Their eCDM™ methodology provides comprehensive data capture and integrity, transforming complex clinical information into actionable insights that improve patient outcomes, operational efficiency, and strategic growth for healthcare systems nationwide.

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Transcript

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Timely data is critical for cancer care. When data is delayed, patients can miss out on receiving critical treatments. A new study shows most hospitals face a one-year data backlog in oncology, which is really unacceptable. I want to take a moment to thank my surgeon, Dr. Nora Fullington, for giving me the very best experience in my recent hernia surgery. I know that's a funny thing to talk about, but I am truly grateful for her. And this month is really all about gratitude. And along with Dr. Fullington, there's someone else we don't get to thank enough. That's ourselves. It's sometimes hard to remind ourselves that we're trying our best to make sense of everything. And in this crazy world, that really isn't easy. So here's a reminder to send some thanks to the people in your life, including yourself and your surgeon. BetterHelp offers entirely online therapy that's designed to be convenient. flexible and tailored to fit your schedule. Just fill out a brief questionnaire to get matched with a licensed therapist and switch therapists at any time for no additional charge. It's helpful for learning positive coping skills and how to set boundaries. It empowers you to be the very best version of yourself. So whether you're dealing with stress, anxiety, or simply seeking personal growth, BetterHelp connects you with licensed therapists who can support you on your mental health journey. Let the gratitude flow with BetterHelp. visit betterhelp.com slash care talk to get 10 % off your first month. That's betterhelp, H-E-L-P dot com slash care talk. Welcome to Health Biz Briefs. I'm David Williams, president of Health Business Group here with Karen Schmidt, VP Oncology Market Lead at QCentrics, a clinical data company and author of the study. Welcome, Karen. Thank you, David, for having me today. I appreciate it. It's a great topic. So I want to hear about, you know, what did your study reveal about data backlogs in oncology and what kinds of data are we talking about that are delayed? Yes, QCentrix works with over 250 cancer programs across the country. And what we're really finding as we engage with new clients is that they are up to a year behind in their cancer data collection. And it's extremely important because we wonder what patients might have fallen through the cracks for treatment. So it's really an important piece of information to get out there. I think that the data that we collect is all about diagnosis, staging, treatment, and even outcomes. so making sure that this data is current is extremely important to everyone. So I think nobody wants data to be delayed for a year. So are there some systemic issues that are driving these delays and any particular pain points? Sometimes there's like a bottleneck in a process. Is anything that comes across from the research? Yeah, not surprisingly. COVID is one of the main issues that you probably hear this a lot and why we're seeing a delay in this. The hospitals really had to pull back patients or to to support patient care, right? So they pulled back this data collection and really focused these individuals on going to the patients and making sure that they were treated appropriately. So now that we're a couple of years past COVID, we're really starting to see that there's a focus on getting this data caught up. You shared with me before we started off that you're a cancer survivor yourself. So put yourself in the patient which you don't have to do because you're already in them, but these sort of delays, what could be the impact on a patient? The great question, and it's really important because if a patient is not receiving timely treatments, the outcomes could be different. So as a cancer survivor, it's really important to me to make sure that we're collecting good data, the physicians have insights into it. and that they understand how treatment needs to be timely, right? So there are a lot of treatment plans out there that say within 60 days, this patient should have this next treatment. And if we're not collecting the data in a timely manner, that patient could fall through the cracks. Yeah, I mean, that puts it in very personal terms because the change of outcome is usually not a change for the better. The consequences could be very severe. OK, so you identified the problem, some systemic elements of it, identified how that can impact an individual patient. So what are the recommendations for health care leaders and policymakers to do something about these shortcomings? Because on the one hand, it's a big problem. On the other hand, hey, there's a lot of problems in health care and they don't all get solved. Yeah, absolutely. I think that one of the biggest things that we're seeing in the industry here right now is that because this backlog is so significant, the states are actually enforcing the laws that are on the books, right? So we're seeing CEOs receive letters saying, hey, you're delinquent in this information submission. And we're also hearing about potential hospitals receiving fines for this. So there is action that is happening. I think the broader good is that we have to put emphasis on this data collection because it's not just important to the historical treatment plans where we can look back and say, when these patients were given this treatment, they had great outcomes. But we need to react to that data in real time and make sure that those patients don't get lost in the transfers or the referrals. That's the biggest thing with cancer. It's not just one physician that takes care of you. It's multiple physicians. It's your oncologists, your radiation oncologists, the pathologists, and all of them have referrals and handoffs that need to be very structured. Well, that's it for the latest Health Biz Brief. If you like what you hear, check out my Health Biz Podcast for full-length interviews with healthcare leaders about their lives and careers. Karen Schmidt, VP Oncology Market Lead at QCentrics. Thanks for joining me today on Health Biz Briefs. Thank you.