Ali McBride, PharmD, MS, BCOP, Becomes ACCC President 2019-2020

Ali McBride, PharmD, MS, BCOP, was named 2019-2020 President of the Association of Community Cancer Centers (ACCC) during its 45th Annual Meeting & Cancer Center Business Summit on March 22, 2019, in Washington, D.C. Dr. McBride is the clinical coordinator of Hematology/Oncology at The University of Arizona Cancer Center.

“During this exciting time of advancement in caring for patients with cancer, I am both honored and privileged to serve as President of the Association of Community Cancer Centers,” said Dr. McBride.

ACCC has a strong legacy of presidential themes that address timely issues in oncology, such as patient empowerment and provider engagement, envisioning next generation multidisciplinary cancer care, and building a resilient cancer care team. Dr. McBride hopes to build on his predecessors’ contributions with his president’s theme of Collaborate. Educate. Compensate: A Prescription for Sustainable Cancer Care Delivery.

“As the “together we are stronger” organization, ACCC is committed to collaboration—creating and sharing strategies and opportunities that bring oncology care providers from multiple disciplines together as an efficient, highly-functioning team,” said Dr. McBride.

Through his president’s theme, Dr. McBride will work with the ACCC membership to reduce current organizational and professional siloes hampering new and evolving collaborations needed to deliver high-quality patient-centered oncology services.

“As our options for treating cancers grow, the cancer care team continues to innovate and evolve,” said Dr. McBride. “Today’s multidisciplinary oncology team is expanding and leveraging new healthcare disciplines to engage in patient care. The advent of novel therapies, new molecular pathologic identification of cancer diseases, and new disease treatments in cancer is enlarging the care team to include molecular pathologists, interventional oncologists, geriatric oncologists, palliative care providers, and patient supportive care staff such as financial advocates, lay navigators, and home-healthcare providers. It’s clear that to deliver 21st century cancer care, breaking down siloes is not only essential, but salient for the future of patient care.”

After collaboration, education is the second pillar for sustainable cancer care delivery in this evolving environment. Throughout the year, ACCC will work with its members to further define resources and tools to educate and support their growing oncology care team and help these providers work to the top of their license to deliver efficient, quality cancer care.

The final pillar is compensation. To ensure sustainability of cancer care delivery, ACCC members should be compensated for the delivery of all services needed to provide holistic, patient-centered care. “As our healthcare system moves forward with value-based compensation models that incorporate strategies such as bundled or episode-based payments, ACCC and other key stakeholders must continue to advocate and educate on behalf of cancer care providers across settings of the continuum of care,” said Dr. McBride.

Throughout the year, Dr. McBride plans to work with the ACCC membership to advance tools and resources in support of collaboration, education, and advocacy for appropriate compensation—working together to fill this prescription for sustainable cancer care delivery.

An active and long-time member of the Association of Community Cancer Centers, Dr. McBride was ACCC President-Elect (2018-2019). He currently serves on the ACCC Governmental Affairs Committee, ACCC Strategic Planning Committee, and on the Advisory Committee for the Oncology Pharmacy Education Network (OPEN). In addition to his involvement with ACCC, Dr. McBride has been actively involved with the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP) and the Hematology/Oncology Pharmacy Association (HOPA).

Dr. McBride is also actively involved with biosimilar regulation and the pharmacoeconomic impact of biosimilars into the U.S. marketplace. He currently serves as a working group member for HOPA on its biosimilar committee. In addition, he serves on the National Quality Forum Cancer Standing Committee. He has published numerous articles on drug shortages, oral chemotherapy adherence, stem cell transplantation, and biosimilar implementation into the U.S. healthcare market.