Overcoming clinical trial accrual barriers at UPMC: A successful experience.

Abstract

e14152 Background: UPMC Hillman Cancer Center Medical Oncology Network is one of the largest integrated community oncology network in the United States. A large gap exists between trial participation rates and the willingness of patients and physicians. There are numerous barriers to clinical trial accrual in the medical oncology community. UPMC identified and created solutions to overcome barriers, and thus dramatically increase clinical trial accrual in 2019. Methods: A physician led advisory board was created to identity problems and find solutions to increase clinical trial accrual in the community. Processes that were implemented in the community to increase physician engagement included identifying more community friendly clinical trials, highlighting high impact clinical trials, and reprioritizing available clinical trials. Also, community physician champions were selected and directly linked with the academic faculty by disease site at UPMC Hillman Cancer Center. Other marketing tools were utilized like a newly developed mobile clinical trial app, community physician dedicated clinical trial retreat, and clinical trial newsletter. High volume community sites were identified as flagship clinical trial accrual centers. Results: With the implementation of physician led initiatives, total (interventional + non interventional) clinical trial accrual increased in the UPMC medical oncology network from 216 in 2018 to 660 in 2019. In 2019 there were 631 interventional trial accruals and 363 therapeutic trial accruals. In 2018 there were only 186 interventional trial accruals and 46 therapeutic trial accruals. Conclusions: The community oncology-directed initiatives created a culture change among the community physicians. UPMC implemented new processes in the medical oncology network that significantly increased clinical trial accrual. [Table: see text]