Skip to main content
Search
News, Views, and Advocacy From the Oncology Nursing Society
ONS Voice Home
  • News & Views
  • Advocacy
  • Stories
  • Instagram
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • YouTube
  • RSS
  • News & Views
    • Latest Articles
    • Clinical Practice
    • ONS News
    • ONS Leadership
    Trending Topics
    • Research
    • Treatments
    • Safety
    • COVID-19
    • Drug Reference Sheet
    • Special Populations
    View All Topics
    Advocacy
    • Latest Articles
    • Updates
    • Get Involved
    Stories View All
    View All
    Clinical and Pharmaceutical Nurse Educators Collaborate to Bring Training to Nurses and Improve Patient Care
    Oncology nurse education
    Clinical and Pharmaceutical Nurse Educators Collaborate to Bring Training to Nurses and Improve Patient Care
    January 13, 2023
    Oncology Nurse Uses Retirement to Help Patients and Healthcare Professionals Understand Pancreatic Cancer Biomarker Testing Results
    Pancreatic cancer
    Oncology Nurse Uses Retirement to Help Patients and Healthcare Professionals Understand Pancreatic Cancer Biomarker Testing Results
    November 11, 2022
    The Life of Marie Curie and Her Contributions to Oncology
    Cancer treatments
    The Life of Marie Curie and Her Contributions to Oncology
    November 07, 2022
    Post-Flooding Natural Disaster Cancer Considerations and Patient Education Points
    Patient safety
    Post-Flooding Natural Disaster Cancer Considerations and Patient Education Points
    September 28, 2022
    Can Patients Use Continuous Glucose Monitors During Radiation Therapy for Cancer?
    Radiation therapy
    Can Patients Use Continuous Glucose Monitors During Radiation Therapy for Cancer?
    August 19, 2022
    previous slide
    next slide
    Search
  • News & Views
  • Advocacy
  • Stories
  • Topic

    Quality of care

    COVID-19’s Impact on Nurses Jeopardizes Quality Care
    COVID-19

    COVID-19’s Impact on Nurses Jeopardizes Quality Care

    Creating a pathway for policymakers, providers, and the public to understand and recommend a new professional nursing dynamic, the Institute of Medicine’s 2011 Future of Nursing report investigated the current and future state and challenges of the nursing profession.

    June 16, 2022
    More Women Have Access to Essential Health Care, HHS Says During Women’s History Month
    Quality of care

    More Women Have Access to Essential Health Care, HHS Says During Women’s History Month

    Healthcare organizations and agencies across the country, including the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), prioritized enhancing and expanding services like maternal and postpartum care and sexual and reproductive health during Women’s History Month, HHS announced in March 2022.

    April 08, 2022
    Even Insured Patients With Advanced Cancer Experience Financial Toxicity
    Patient financial advocacy

    Even Insured Patients With Advanced Cancer Experience Financial Toxicity

    As many as 71% of patients with advanced cancer—most of whom have healthcare insurance—experience major financial hardship because of their disease, according to study findings published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

    March 16, 2022
    Prevent Implicit Bias in Patient Care With These Cultural Conversation Starters
    Cultural/ethnic issues

    Prevent Implicit Bias in Patient Care With These Cultural Conversation Starters

    Each clinical encounter with a patient brings together three different cultural perspectives: the patient’s, the nurse’s, and health care’s own culture. Patient-centered care acknowledges and responds to the unique needs and preferences of each patient in the context of their culture. As we approach our patients with respect, humility, and curiosity to learn more, we must ask questions to help prevent assumptions, generalizations, and implicit bias from influencing our interactions.

    March 03, 2022
    No Surprises Act Protects Patients From Unexpected Medical Bills
    Patient financial advocacy

    No Surprises Act Protects Patients From Unexpected Medical Bills

    Patients now have protection against unexpected—and often extraordinarily high—medical bills. On January 1, 2022, the Biden-Harris administration’s bipartisan No Surprises Act went into effect to ban surprise billing in private insurance for most emergency care and many instances of nonemergency care, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).

    February 09, 2022
    Education, Insurance, and Marital Status Linked to Disparities in Survivorship Care Plans
    Survivorship care plans

    Education, Insurance, and Marital Status Linked to Disparities in Survivorship Care Plans

    Older cancer survivors who have lower levels of education, are uninsured, or are widowed, divorced, or separated are less likely to receive survivorship care plans (SCPs), researchers found. They reported the results of their study in Supportive Care in Cancer.

    January 05, 2022
    CMS Launches Strategy to Drive Health System Transformation
    Health Policy

    CMS Launches Strategy to Drive Health System Transformation

    Under a newly refreshed strategy, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ (CMS) Innovation Center is expanding models in the healthcare industry that reduce program costs and improving quality and outcomes for Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries, the agency announced in an October 2021 white paper.

    December 13, 2021
    Oncology Nursing Society Issues a Call to Action for Using Appropriate Genomics Terminology for Safety and Quality
    Press Releases

    Oncology Nursing Society Issues a Call to Action for Using Appropriate Genomics Terminology for Safety and Quality

    The Oncology Nursing Society (ONS) is calling all oncology nurses to become fluent in the ONS Genomics Taxonomy terms and to use them in their practice. Using consistent and correct genomics terminology minimizes confusion and misconceptions and contributes to the high quality and safe delivery of cancer care.

    December 09, 2021
    Evidence-Based Practice Gives Oncology Nurses Knowledge and Standards for Clinical Care
    Nursing evidence-based practice

    Evidence-Based Practice Gives Oncology Nurses Knowledge and Standards for Clinical Care

    We have an approximately 14- to 17-year gap between the inception of research discovery and the implementation of findings into clinical practice. As a profession, nurses have a shared responsibility to address the challenge of identifying and overcoming barriers to evidence-based practice (EBP) implementation to provide the best possible clinical care for patients. My primary area of focus as a researcher is on using EBP to improve patient, staff, and organizational outcomes through the Science and Practice Aligned Within Nursing (SPAWN) model, a framework for applying EBP to clinical nursing care.

    October 12, 2021
    Practice Change: Transform Cancer Care Through Quality Improvement and Evidence-Based Practice
    Nursing evidence-based practice

    Practice Change: Transform Cancer Care Through Quality Improvement and Evidence-Based Practice

    Most nurses have not received formal training in quality improvement (QI) methodology, and many workplaces lack the resources to efficiently implement evidence-based practice (EBP), which results in delays in translating science into practice. But ONS members are overcoming those barriers and leading the way in effectively developing, implementing, and sustaining practice changes.

    October 05, 2021
    CMS Innovation Center Uses Past Achievements to Build Future Goals
    Affordable Care Act (ACA)

    CMS Innovation Center Uses Past Achievements to Build Future Goals

    Innovative, affordable, and accountable care are the key to transforming the healthcare system to achieve health equity, according to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Innovation Center’s 10-year plan, which the center announced on August 12, 2021.

    September 17, 2021
    ONS Bridge

    Nurses Humanize and Normalize Digital Health as Technology Becomes Part of the Care Team

    COVID-19 forced healthcare providers to pivot to digital health, but an estimated 70% of patients still deferred or canceled their care, including routine cancer screening. Technology is an essential tool in cancer care, according to Abigail Baldwin-Medsker, MSN, RN, OCN®, of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, who presented a session at the ONS BridgeTM virtual conference on September 16, 2021.

    September 16, 2021
    Study Ranks U.S. Healthcare Industry Dead Last Among Other High-Income Countries
    Healthcare safety standards

    Study Ranks U.S. Healthcare Industry Dead Last Among Other High-Income Countries

    The United States is worst among 11 high-income countries in delivery of and access to health care, according to an August 2021 study conducted by the Commonwealth Fund, despite spending the most, by far, of its gross domestic product (GDP) on health care than other countries surveyed. The survey used indicators across domains on access to care, care process, administrative efficiency, equity, and healthcare outcomes to compare healthcare system performance. Overall, the top-performing countries were Norway, the Netherlands, and Australia.

    September 01, 2021
    Be Honest: Are You Getting Enough Sleep?
    Nurse well-being

    Be Honest: Are You Getting Enough Sleep?

    A full night’s sleep is a necessity, not a luxury, yet many people place sleep at the end of their priority list. Rather than seeing it as restorative, they think it takes up precious time to be productive. Many proudly proclaim, “You can sleep when you’re dead,” but ignoring healthy sleep habits can actually bring people closer to that end. Insufficient sleep is so pervasive in the United States that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention considers it a public health epidemic.

    May 28, 2020
    Patient-Centered Care Through the Oncology Care Model
    Quality of care

    Patient-Centered Care Through the Oncology Care Model

    Better care. Smarter spending. Healthier people. Those are the three hallmark goals of the Oncology Care Model, a value-based payment system developed by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Service’s Center for Innovation.

    October 01, 2019
    ONS Congress

    Considerations for Care of LGBTQ+ Patients With Cancer

    Cancer in the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender/transsexual, or queer/questioning (LGBTQ+) population has remained underresearched, and information that is known is less likely to reach oncology professionals who could use it to improve care. In “Care of the LGBTQ+ Patient With Cancer,” Carlton Brown, RN, PhD, AOCN®, NEA-BC, FAAN, president of Zenith Health Care Solutions, Inc., in Portland, OR, and David Rice, PhD, MSN, RN, NP, NEA-BC, director of education, evidence-based practice, and research at the City of Hope National Medical Center in Duarte, CA, examined the delivery of quality cancer care in people identifying as LGBTQ+, along with strategies for addressing their unique needs and minimizing barriers to care. They presented the session on Thursday, April 11, 2019, at the ONS 44th Annual Congress in Anaheim, CA.

    April 11, 2019
    How Shared Decision Making Affects Cancer Care
    Shared decision making (SDM)

    How Shared Decision Making Affects Cancer Care

    “Two heads are better than one” is an idiom so old and often used that it borders on cliché. But as with most colloquial sayings, a kernel of truth is buried underneath. Combining forces to solve problems, overcome obstacles, and coordinate efforts is the key to nearly every successful endeavor, and it’s especially true for patients and providers navigating the cancer journey. 

    April 02, 2019
    Joint Commission Focuses on Quality, Safety for 2019
    Safety

    Joint Commission Focuses on Quality, Safety for 2019

    As part of its ongoing work “to continuously improve health care for the public, in collaboration with other stakeholders, by evaluating healthcare organizations and inspiring them to excel in providing safe and effective care of the highest quality and value,” the Joint Commission hosts an annual Health Care Association Forum to educate associations about the commission’s latest initiatives and goals. Here are the outcomes that affect nursing practice in 2019.

    March 27, 2019
    2019 Will Be a Strategic Bridge Year as ONS Looks Ahead to a New Decade
    ONS News

    2019 Will Be a Strategic Bridge Year as ONS Looks Ahead to a New Decade

    Oncology nurses have seen many changes in the past decade with significant improvements in cancer treatment, better symptom management and palliative care, and enhanced care coordination. But much work needs to be done as we look toward the future.

    January 07, 2019
     How Do Nurse Practitioners Support Patients With Cancer During Radiation?
    Radiation therapy

    How Do Nurse Practitioners Support Patients With Cancer During Radiation?

    Nurse practitioners provide quality and value in radiation oncology clinics. By managing the effects of radiation during and after treatment, as well as following patients into survivorship, nurse practitioners are continually improving the quality of care that patients receive during and following treatment.

    June 05, 2018
    Quality of care

    Providing Quality Healthcare to Different Patient Populations

    During a session at the 43rd Annual Congress in Washington, DC, various speakers discussed their work in providing quality health care to vulnerable patient populations.

    May 18, 2018
    Federal Officials Say No to Lifetime Limits on Medicaid; Empowered Patients Are the Future of Health Care; Healthcare Jobs Continue to Grow Faster Than Jobs in the General Economy
    Health Policy

    Federal Officials Say No to Lifetime Limits on Medicaid; Empowered Patients Are the Future of Health Care; Healthcare Jobs Continue to Grow Faster Than Jobs in the General Economy

    On May 7, 2018, the White House told the Department of Health and Human Services to overturn Kansas’s new lifetime limit restrictions on Medicaid. Kansas has been leading the way for states looking to implement restrictions to federal benefits. The state previously implemented work requirements for Medicaid recipients and was trying to impose time limits for how long recipients could receive Medicaid for some time. Had its efforts stood, this would mark a fundamental shift in how the federal program is implemented at the state level.

    May 14, 2018
    Use These Methods to Evaluate EBP Outcomes and Disseminate Results
    Nursing evidence-based practice

    Use These Methods to Evaluate EBP Outcomes and Disseminate Results

    One of the most important but often challenging steps in the evidence-based practice (EBP) process is ensuring that the change we wanted to happen actually occurred. After a practice change has been implemented, it’s important to ask if the expected outcome was achieved. Patient-related outcomes can be psychosocial (change in symptoms such as depression or anxiety), physiologic (reduction in catheter-associated urinary tract infections), or functional (increased exercise or mobility). Outcomes can also be process related, such as reduced readmissions or more efficient discharge planning.  

    April 19, 2018
    Supportive Care Programs for Patients With Cancer
    Patient Support

    Supportive Care Programs for Patients With Cancer

    Focusing on a patient’s quality of life is often a key component to their successful cancer journey. Treating their disease is crucial, but patients have to be recognized as individuals with unique and varying needs. Addressing their emotional, physical, spiritual, and psychosocial stressors can help provide holistic treatment that’s at the heart of successful oncology care.

    April 02, 2018
    CMS Releases Report on Oncology Care Model
    Quality Outcomes

    CMS Releases Report on Oncology Care Model

    The cost of cancer care and the quality of patient services has always been a top priority in health care. However, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Innovation Center has been working to strengthen both elements of care. CMS, through its Oncology Care Model (OCM) division, works with cancer care providers to develop payment strategies and performance categories in treatment plans for patients with cancer.

    April 01, 2018
    New HHS Secretary Azar Aims to Tackle Drug Prices, Affordable Care
    Health Policy

    New HHS Secretary Azar Aims to Tackle Drug Prices, Affordable Care

    On January 24, 2018, the Senate officially confirmed the nomination of Alex Azar, the newest secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Azar replaces former HHS secretary Tom Price, a physician who stepped down in late 2017. Although confirmed along party lines, Azar’s long governmental experience had plenty of support despite his past connections to the pharmaceutical industry.

    March 07, 2018
    APNs Have a Role in Leading Value-Based Care
    Advanced Practice Nursing (APRN)

    APNs Have a Role in Leading Value-Based Care

    Recent care delivery models have focused on providing value-based care to patients. The changes provide opportunity for APNs to take a leadership role in implementing models and systems to effectively deliver that care. Here’s what APNs need to know about the new models.

    December 15, 2017
    Clinical Nurse Specialists
    Advanced Practice Nursing (APRN)

    Overcome Barriers to Your Clinical Nurse Specialist Practice

    As an oncology clinical nurse specialist (CNS), you may find yourself answering over and over the question of, “What is it you do?” In many instances, it is a broader role then most may realize, and you wear several hats. As you explain to other oncology staff what a CNS does, focus on the three spheres of influence.

    September 14, 2017
    Susan Schneider
    Quality of care

    Oncology Nurses Need to Advocate for Access to Quality Care

    Specialized Knowledge: Quality Care. This is my ONS presidential platform. In several columns, I have discussed how ONS resources can provide you with the specialized knowledge and expertise to provide quality care. This issue, I’d like to focus on quality care.

    September 07, 2017
    ONS Congress

    Personalize Quality-of-Life Measures to Improve Patient Experiences

    Quality of life (QOL) is a complicated construct and has been defined many ways. Barbara Anne Biedrzycki, PhD, CRNP, AOCNP®, of the Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins, presented the following view: “Quality of life is achieved when our hopes are matched and fulfilled by our experiences.” She encouraged participants to have a holistic perspective of QOL but to keep in mind that QOL is very individualized—its definition and meaning are different to each individual, and each person finds some factors to be more important than others.

    July 03, 2017
    ONS Congress

    Data Aggregate System Seeks Oncology Nurse Ambassadors

    During a session at the 42nd Annual Congress in Denver, CO—on what happened to be National Nurses Day—the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) asked nurses to consider joining an initiative intended to gather, collate, and disseminate massive amounts of data to enhance evidence-based cancer diagnosis and treatment.

    July 02, 2017
    ONS Congress

    Improve Patient Care by Reaching Benchmark Standards

    Nurses and patients know that nursing care makes a difference. During a session at the 42nd Annual Congress in Denver, CO, David Rice, PhD, RN, NP, director of professional practice and education at the City of Hope National Medical Center, encouraged nurses to take strides to prove it by using benchmarks and data.

    July 02, 2017
    CancerLinQ
    Clinical practice

    How ONS and Oncology Nursing Are Helping to Define Big Data and Cancer Care

    For oncology nurses, physicians, and care professionals, the importance of implementing tools to collect and analyze big data cannot be understated. Through collaboration and multidisciplinary tactics, data can help drive improvements in the way patients are treated.

    June 15, 2017
    Nurse on Computer
    Clinical practice

    ONS and ASCO CancerLinQ Partnership Will Help Institutions Use Practice Data to Drive Greater Cancer Care

    Offering personalized treatment plans to patients with cancer is one of the biggest goals for any oncology institution—big or small. ONS leaders and members have united their personal and organizational efforts to move cancer care toward personalization while still aligning the needs of patients with nationally recognized clinical guidelines. Oncology nurses consistently strive to deliver quality cancer care to their patients.

    March 08, 2017
    How the Oncology Care Model Is Redefining Quality Care
    Quality of care

    How the Oncology Care Model Is Redefining Quality Care

    Oncology institutions across the United States are implementing big change in the way nurses and physicians deliver care to patients with cancer. By highlighting quality care and smart spending, facilities are reimagining the way cancer is treated in America. New procedures, research, and technology have redefined the way cancer is treated, so a new system for delivery and reimbursement is vital to ensure that quality care can be delivered at a reasonable cost.

    March 01, 2017
    Ron Kline, MD, FAAP
    Quality of care

    How Are We Creating a New Payment Model for Oncology Care?

    Oncology care is a complex, expensive, and often-fragmented area of medicine. To understand the potential need for a new payment model in oncology care, a thorough evaluation of all the data was important. By reviewing the oncology literature associated with costs and quality, we discovered that there were wide variations in the costs associated with the treatment of advanced cancers, but little variation in the outcomes of patients. We also identified gaps in patient care that we thought could be improved.

    February 28, 2017
    Jill Beavers-Kirby, DNP, MS, ACNP-BC
    Advance care planning

    My Experience Lobbying for Cancer Care Planning in Washington, DC

    In late June, I had the opportunity to wear two advocacy hats: one for ONS, and one for the National Coalition for Cancer Survivorship (NCCS). It was an incredible experience to walk the halls of the U.S. Congress to help educate elected officials and their staff on legislation that affects cancer care.
    July 27, 2016
    Cancer healthcare advocacy

    National Quality Forum Seeks Comments for Quality Measures

    The National Quality Forum (NQF) Cancer Project 2015–2017 seeks to identify and endorse performance measures for accountability reporting and quality improvement that specifically address conditions, treatments, interventions, or procedures relating to cancer. A detailed overview of the goals/objectives of the Cancer Project is provided by NQF.

    July 20, 2016
    Oncology health literacy

    The Impact of Health Literacy on Safety and Quality

    A person with adequate health literacy has the ability to access, understand, and act on health-related information. Safety and quality can suffer when a person is limited in any one of these components.
    May 04, 2016
    Nursing education

    ACOS Commission on Cancer Issues 2016 Program Standards to Clarify Nursing Training, Patient Care Continuum

    The American College of Surgeons (ACOS) recently released clarifications for program standards related to oncology nurse training and patient-centered care in the Cancer Program Standards: Ensuring Patient-Centered Care (2016 Edition) Manual.
    February 12, 2016
    Oncology patient hires private advocate
    Patient advocacy

    What Nurses Need to Know About Private Patient Advocates

    Navigating the healthcare system as a patient with cancer, with multiple treatment options, frequent appointments, diagnostic tests, new medications, and insurance complications, is confusing and can become overwhelming. Advocacy is one crucial role a nurse fulfills, providing education and support to assist patients with making decisions and managing their condition.
    February 02, 2016
    Oncology nurses improve quality of patient care
    Access to Cancer Care

    IOM Report on Quality Cancer Care Has Implications for Oncology Nurses

    Since its pivotal report in 2001, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) has advocated for improving the quality of U.S. health care. To that effect, the IOM’s latest report outlines a systematic plan to help the U.S. healthcare system meet that goal.
    January 21, 2014
    Prostate cancer

    Prostate Cancer Nursing Management Is Critical to Quality Care

    Prostate cancer nursing management must be well understood because prostate cancer is the second most common cancer in men after skin cancer; however, prostate cancer can be successfully treated. According to the American Cancer Society, more than two million men in the United States are prostate cancer survivors.
    September 18, 2013
    Improving healthcare delivery process with Lean
    Quality of care

    Lean, Mean, Patient-Care Machine

    “At first glance, you could say that applying manufacturing processes to health care is cold or impersonal,” Holly Dowling, RN, BSN, OCN®, clinical nurse educator for ambulatory hematology/oncology at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, MA, says.
    September 03, 2013
    Nurse well-being

    Enhance Nursing Practice and Patient Care by Fostering Wellness and Self-​​Healing for Nurses

    Fos­ter­ing Well­ness and Heal­ing at Work
    May 06, 2012
    Trending Topics
    • Research
    • Treatments
    • Safety
    • COVID-19
    • Drug Reference Sheet
    • Special Populations
    • Clinical practice
    • U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
    • Health Policy
    • Immunotherapy
    View All Topics
     
    Home
    News, Views, and Advocacy From the Oncology Nursing Society
  • Legal Notices
  • Contact Us
  • Conferences
  • Advertising
  • Newsroom
  • Sitemap
  • Instagram
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • YouTube
  • RSS
  • ONS
  • Oncology Nursing Foundation
  • ONCC
  • © Copyright 2023 Oncology Nursing Society
     
    Back to Top ▲