Convening to Improve Cancer Care
HICOR’s Value in Cancer Care Initiative (VCCI) engages oncology providers, patient partners, payers, health system representatives and researchers to improve the value of cancer care delivery in Washington state. These community members contribute to HICOR’s research and oncology performance reporting initiatives through the Value in Cancer Care Summit.
Value in Cancer Care Summit
The Value in Cancer Care Summit brings together patients, providers, clinic administrators and staff, health system representatives, nonprofit leaders, payers, researchers, academics, and industry representatives to collaborate on ways to improve the quality of cancer care while reducing costs.
The 9th Annual Value in Cancer Care Summit 2024 was held on Friday, November 15, 2024 This year's discussion theme was Improving Patient Access to Care. Presentations are available below:
Paula Chambers Raney
"Improving Patient Access to Care – A Journey Through Advocacy and Impact"
Mateo Banegas, PhD, MPH
"Addressing Financial Hardship Associated with Cancer"
Scott Ramsey, MD, PhD and Veena Shankaran, MD
"Access to Cancer Care in Washington State: Data and Dialogue"
Kerry McMillen, MS, RD, CSO, CD, FAND, Jenifer Curry, RN, Kathryn Swingle, MSW, LICSW, Marty Chakoian
"Expanding Access to Supportive Care"
Banu Symington, MD
"Unique Barriers to Cancer Care Access for Rural Patients"
Duncan Reid, MD, MS
"A Model for Enhancing Medical Understanding Through Community Engagement"
Elyse LeeVan, MD, MPH
"Multi-Cancer Detection Tests and NCI's Vanguard Study"
Ruth Etzioni, PhD
"Multi-Cancer Early Detection Tests: Will they Deliver? What to Expect?"

Previous Summits
See below for a description of the most recent Value in Cancer Care Summits, along with selected presentations and materials.
The 7th Annual Value in Cancer Care Summit was held virtually on Monday, November 9, 2020. The 2020 Summit addressed the most important issues impacting the Cancer Care Community in 2020: COVID-19 and structural inequitites. HICOR shared preliminary analyses of the impact of COVID-19 on cancer care and reported on observations of disparities in care between commercial and Medicaid insured populations.
Presentations from the Summit are available below.
Scott Ramsey, M.D., Ph.D., Veena Shankaran, M.D., M.S., Christopher Chen, M.D.
"Perspectives on Cancer Care in Washington State: Structural Inequities in Care Delivery and Impact of COVID-19"
Over 200 stakeholders, including patients, providers, payers, researchers and policy officials attended HICOR's 6th annual Value in Cancer Care Summit on May 13, 2019. The day's discussions centered around the theme of integrating the patient’s voice into community cancer care with presentations from community panels and national thought leaders. HICOR Director, Scott Ramsey, presented new analyses on disparities in cancer care and survival in Washington State.
The Hutch News Services article New data on cancer disparities in Washington summarizes key concepts and findings discussed at the summit.
Presentations from the summit are available below.
Judge Karen A. Overstreet (Ret.)
"Financial Navigation for Cancer Patients: A Community Partnership"
Patricia Deverka, M.D.
"Patient Partners in Research - From Concept to Practice"
Joseph Unger, Ph.D., M.S.
"Structural, Clinical, and Physician/Patient Barriers to Clinical Trial Participation"
Christopher Flowers, M.D., M.Sc., FASCO
"Disparities in Cancer Survival"
Scott Ramsey, M.D., Ph.D.
"Mapping Cancer Care Disparities in Washington State"
Kemi M. Doll, M.D., MSCR
"A Patient-Centered Approach to Cancer Equity: Building a Bridge of Engagement"
More than 200 participants gathered at Bell Harbor International Conference Center on May 3, 2018, to discuss how to “make measurement matter” in oncology. Topics included national trends and opportunities in performance measurement as well as strategies to motivate practice change in the clinic setting. HICOR director Dr. Scott Ramsey highlighted key findings from HICOR’s newly published Community Cancer Care in Washington State report. Selected presentations and materials from the summit are available below.
Scott Ramsey, M.D., Ph.D.
"Key Findings from HICOR’s Community Cancer Care in Washington State: Quality and Cost Report 2018"
Eve Kerr, M.D., M.P.H.
“Using Performance Measurement to Motivate Practice Change: Opportunities and Pitfalls”
Bryan Weiner, Ph.D.
“Advancing Cancer Care Delivery Through Implementation Science”
Value Based Reimbursement Report
Ronald Walters, M.D., M.B.A., M.H.A.
Culture Change in the Clinic Setting
Bryan Weiner, Ph.D., and Sibel Blau, M.D.
“Culture Change in the Clinic Setting”