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Gyn Cancers: HCP Insights

CE / CME

Achieving Equitable Care in Gynecologic Cancers: Healthcare Professional Insights for Improving Care

Pharmacists: 0.75 contact hour (0.075 CEUs)

Nurses: 0.75 Nursing contact hour

Physicians: Maximum of 0.75 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™

Released: August 09, 2023

Expiration: August 08, 2024

Maria Avila-Wallace
Maria Avila-Wallace, NP
Eloise Chapman-Davis
Eloise Chapman-Davis, MD, FACOG
Eva Y. Pan
Eva Y. Pan, PharmD, BCOP
Ritu Salani
Ritu Salani, MD, MBA
CME/CE Information

Activity

Progress
1
Course Completed

Takeaways on HCP Insights for Health Equity and Available Resources for Gynecologic Cancers

Maria Avila-Wallace, NP:
Being bilingual and bicultural, I am fortunate to have a large referral base for Spanish- and Portuguese-speaking patients, who may originate from any Latin country and/or Portugal and Brazil. At our center, we offer an interpreter service with access to numerous language interpreters for clinic visits and telephone calls. 

I suspect one of the reasons for the increase in non‒English speaking patients in our clinics for the past 2-3 years is the outreach and expansion of Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center services into southern New Hampshire and western and southern Massachusetts. That initiative has increased access to previously underserved populations in those areas. Moreover, we come across patients from Haiti, African countries, and Central and South America.

To deliver equitable gynecologic cancer care to a diverse and multicultural patient population, we must be able to translate or find interpreters to support and educate patients about their disease, optimal available treatments, and goals and prepare them to recognize and report AEs during their visits or via the health portal. Moreover, we must share with them any available resources from nonprofit organizations or drug manufacturers that could help with molecular or genetic testing and medication assistance as appropriate.

As HCPs, we must leverage our connections with different foundations that may provide aid to international patients. An example is one of my patients with advanced cervical cancer—a refugee from Venezuela—who was able to access treatment after traveling from Orlando, Florida, to Massachusetts monthly to receive chemotherapy. We also helped a 50-year-old patient with ovarian cancer from Honduras gain Honduran hospice services through contacts at the Honduran consulate, including travel assistance for her trip back home.

There are clear opportunities to achieve equitable delivery of care for all patients with gynecologic cancers, including:

  • Providing patients with education about their disease, available screening tools, and molecular testing to help inform the best treatment option for their type of cancer
  • Having open conversations with patients about what the cost of care may entail and available options (eg, pharmacy programs, copay assistance, manufacturer grants, and available clinical trials) so that no patient is left receiving suboptimal treatment because of socioeconomic or geographic barriers 
  • Keeping an open channel of communication with patients and family members to monitor AEs of therapy, address patient concerns in a timely manner, and monitor for lack of adherence or missed treatment refills from either physical or financial toxicities of treatment

We are in a very fortuitous moment in the care of gynecologic cancers because of recent advances in treatment options. However, the advent of novel treatment options has inadvertently increased the gap in care for the most vulnerable groups, including underrepresented racial and ethnic minority patients worldwide. 

All HCPs must endeavor not only to remain aware of the existing and growing gaps in the delivery of equitable care for patients with gynecologic cancers, but also to do their best to take steps to help patients overcome these barriers.

Working together, all members of the healthcare team—nurses, pharmacists, physicians, and social workers—can help deliver equitable care for all patients regardless of race or socioeconomic status. 

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