ONCare Alliance Merger Announcement: An Interview With Co-Founders Barbara McAneny, MD, and Sibel Blau, MD

Longtime industry leaders Barbara McAneny, MD, and Sibel Blau, MD, have joined forces to create ONCare Alliance, a strategic collaboration that aims to redefine the independent practice in community cancer care.

Transcript:

Ron Barkley, MS, JD: Hello and welcome to today's edition of Cancer Care Business Breakthroughs, a video series in which we host conversations around the latest cutting-edge developments and innovations in the business of cancer care delivery. I'm Ron Barkley. I'm an oncology, business advisor and principal in the Cancer Care Business Exchange thought leadership forum.

I am honored to host today's program, during which we are featuring the merger of two preeminent oncology practice networks, National Cancer Care Alliance and Quality Care Alliance, to become a single consolidated, independent oncology practice network, ONCare Alliance. 

With us today to describe the significance of this achievement are the founding physician leaders, Dr Barbara McAneny and Dr Sibel Blau.

First, some introductions. Dr McAneny, could you be so kind as just give us a little bit about your background. Not too much. And a brief summary of the history of NCCA.

Barbara McAneny, MD: Sure, I am a practicing medical oncologist/hematologist, and the managing partner and CEO of New Mexico Oncology Hematology Consultants. I had the Come Home Innovation Center Award that started the Oncology Medical Home processes, and I have done a lot of work with the American Medical Association, including being its president. I've worked with ASCO on that board, and now COA on its board. So I have always done a lot of organized medicine.

So when we finished the Come Home Innovation Center award, we found that these practices like very much working together, and that we all found value in being collaborative and sharing best practices and coming up with ideas about how to strengthen independent practices. So we created National Cancer Care Alliance. And we focused a lot on, first of all, alternative revenue streams like research and using our combined data to be able to monetize that and provide more revenue back to the practices rather than just watching all that revenue be siphoned off by the people who were aggregating our data without our permission. We also figured out that we could do value-based care together, and we could create a foundation that would help allow us to help our patients who were struggling to manage the adverse social determinants of health. And now we're doing Oncology College.

But there are a lot of things that we discovered that with QCCA, we were duplicating efforts. There's a lot of areas where it's compatible and a lot of areas where there's overlap. And so we figured that together, we would be a lot stronger.

So Sibel can describe the QCCA history, and why they came to feel the same way about merging that we did.

Sibel Blau, MD: Yes, thank you very much, Barbara. I am also a practicing hematologist/oncologist at Northwest Medical Specialties, which is Pacific Northwest Corner. I'm the president and managing partner of my practice. Years ago, we were members of a national coalition called Cancer Clinics of Excellence. As the Cancer Clinics of Excellence was closing down, my particular, one of my particular interests is the research, the research network that we had just created with CCE. I felt we could do better. This organization we had was precious, but I think at this point we, as physician leaders, should take charge and create something that's better than what we had at CCE. So over the years I participated in many different committees and organizational work, with ASCO, COA, ACCC, myself, as well as regional and local leadership positions. Following the footsteps of Barbara, what she created in the world of value-based care, my practice and one of the founding members of QCCA took on alternative payment model initiatives. We participated in OCM. And we were a very successful practice as a result of what she started all. 

And so in 2014, the last day of CCE, I approached a few practices, like-minded practices, and we started QCCA around about the same time NCCA started, actually. And over the years we kept in touch, Barbara and I, and several QCCA and NCCA practices through different meetings, and we had actually common interests, and as a result of all of that we decided to come together and created ONCare Alliance.

Ron Barkley: Terrific. Thank you. While I still have you there, don't disappear. Can you tell me a little bit about it: I mean NCCA and QCCA, you know, have both been highly successful oncology networks in their own rights. Why merge? Why come together now— what's the impetus?

Dr Blau: Well, I'll tell you. We Barbara already mentioned, we have very similar vision in many areas, and we did overlapping things. They at NCCA did some amazing initiatives that we didn't particularly put our effort in. At QCCA we did other unique opportunities and initiatives that NCCA had not started yet. One of them was Exigent Research, and we started QCCA Research Network back in 2020 because of our similar vision and what we were already doing and prepared infrastructure. NCCA-QCCA practices came together, and we did Exigent Research. So that happened in 2022, and we have been very successful together. And we're so similar in doing so many things in parallel paths that it was just a really natural progression into what we are now. And of course there is also the right timing for us. This is the right timing for us. There is so many forces outside of us which we cannot control. And we have the same similar data warehouse. And we put a lot of effort at QCCA in building data engine and strategic partnerships that deepened our knowledge and understanding how we can manage our own data, and what we can do with it, to enhance the practices’ knowledge and experiences, and give additional revenue streams to the practices. So together now, this is our time to bring our strengths. What we all did in our own unique cocoons, and really make it all better and bigger, and just utilize all the strengths to make it possible for all independent practices to survive, to cherish, to actually bring all the good things that we created together into their own practices.

Ron Barkley: Great, thank you. I guess Dr McAneny, anything to add, particularly what's the overarching purpose of the new entity of ONCare Alliance? 

Dr McAneny: Well, we know that there are a lot of practices out there who are looking for allies and for looking for the ability to remain independent. There's still a lot of oncology practices that want to be able to be very nimble in their own markets, but need that increased market leverage that we can provide as a large organization. For example, purchasing together. When you have the economies of scale, of purchasing of a large organization, you can benefit from that, and it drops to the bottom line of your practice.

But many of us did not want to give up our tax ID numbers or mortgage our future partners or our younger doctors in the practice in order to get a market share leverage for purchasing together. So that's one of the ways that we can provide this without giving up your autonomy. I think that all practices these days are looking for alternative revenue streams, and both of us had been looking at research at this, but Sibel, with Exigent and her vision for that, has taken that to a new level.

And so NCCA and QCCA together contributed to Exigent, and tried to fund Sibel's vision of helping independent practices be able to participate in research, and have that as not only a revenue stream for us, but be able to change the research landscape to include patients of diverse backgrounds.

We both had been working on data projects, health outcomes and economics research. But together we have a huge data warehouse that we can work together to clean it up and make it into a real force to provide important information about how patient care can go.

One of the things that we've been working on is Oncology College. It came very clear to many of the NCCA practices, that as our generation of leadership was getting older, that we needed to be able to nurture and mentor the new leaders who are coming forth in our practices. So tomorrow we're having our first kickoff meeting of the Oncology College, where we're trying to teach some of the fundamentals of how to manage a practice to up and coming leaders. And we plan to have that as an ongoing event that will benefit both the oncology practices of the former QCCA and the former NCCA, now all 33 working together in ONCare Alliance.

And we will strengthen ourselves that way immensely. And all of us, you know, we know about the social determinants of health. Oncology practices have always known that. We've always been managing it, but we can help one another create foundations to help our patients with the nonmedical expenses of having cancer and be able to help our patients be able to manage their cancer care without having to live in their car. I can't think of anything worse. So we found so many things where we work together from purchasing to research, to data projects, to the Oncology College for future leadership, to the foundation to help our patients, and many more projects that we can be responsive to the needs of the practices.

It is our goal to provide a soft landing for any practices who are tired of being told what to do by hospital MBAs. Who do not want to forfeit their own tax ID and their independence and their own management, but want to have allies, want to have friends, want to have colleagues and collaborators who can help each one of them make their practices stronger, and to help make other independents stronger. Because if we can dispel the myth that private practice is not an easy way to do business, not an easy way to deliver care, if we can dispel that myth by showing that we can make practices strong and able to thrive in the current marketplace, we can change how health care is delivered. We know that it's already less expensive to get care from an oncology practice. We intend to show that it's also better quality care, that you can get the latest research, that you can get the support that you need for patients. So bluntly said, Sibel and I are out to change how oncology care is delivered across the country, and to incorporate all of these strengths of both of these organizations into something that will really be a landmark opportunity.

Ron Barkley: Thank you very much for that description of I think what's probably the value proposition of ONCare Alliance to the member practices. What the, what the value is to them. Dr Blau, I’d kind of like to shift gears, and maybe if you can describe a bit about what you think the ONCare Alliance value proposition is for patients. In other words, how will ONCare practices be better positioned to provide, continue to provide patient care excellence?

Dr Blau: When quality programs are created, patients benefit from that. That's how we all work in independent oncology: we're innovative, we're creative, and we always put the patient at the center. But our resources a lot of times do not allow us to provide that best care. What we want to have is a 360-degree care point at the point of care for patients that don't need to travel to academic centers or other hospital systems, and just get everything that they need at our own practices. Single-by-single practices may not be able to afford these programs. But ONCare Alliance is actually positioned to develop these very unique and unit model programs, that's all uniform, high-quality, controlled, all the standard of practice protocols are established, such as bispecific cellular therapy program, such as theranostics, early phase, research, development, even as nitty gritty as practice management. So all of all of that is actually happening right now, as we speak, and all the real-world data that the projects that we actually are part of our revenue stream source, but they are also our quality improvement and the clinical decision tools that we create to inform our practices how we can deliver better care to our patients. Not to miss any information that is out there that is so difficult to follow up, because there is so much science and so much development, but not skip a beat, bring all that information to the practices of the patient at the point of care, get the best care from their own doctors in their own communities. So that's, I think that this is really the result of this collaboration, this result of the work we're doing by utilizing our data engine getting all this information and spinning off all these different areas of unique interest in program development will benefit the patients as a result.

Ron Barkley: Great, thank you. I guess last question for either or both of you. But somebody say something when I ask the question. Do you see any, you know, foresee any roadblocks that ONCare could face as you move forward? And you know, if so, somebody's going to throw a roadblock up. How are you going to overcome the roadblock?

Dr McAneny: Well, we know we have competitors in this space. We know that there are a lot of aggregators in this space, and we know that there are a lot of oncology practices who are looking for help. And so our goal is to offer a different option for practices to find the help that they need. We don't need to have owners, but we do need to have friends and allies, and I think that that will be a key thing. I think the only roadblock that we're going to see is letting practices that are out there, who have their heads down, working hard, not paying attention to what's going on around them, and they don't know that we're out there as an opportunity, as welcoming arms, to bring them into ONCare Alliance and help them to thrive and help them to do what they're already struggling to do and do it better.

So I appreciate, Ron, you letting us do this this interview, because we need to get the word out to practices all across the country that we are welcoming them with open arms, and we are here to help strengthen independent community oncologists.

Dr Blau: And I will add to it is that we will have roadblocks, because every day there is something new. So there's a bridge here, bridge there. We're also vulnerable, now, affected by unknown, we have known competition, but we also have unknown forces out there that we may not predict. But what I'm amazed at, I'm sitting in here today in the last NCCA board meeting and and listening to the practices. How innovative, how creative everybody is. When there is a problem, when there is a roadblock, I know we will find a solution, because, as one person, I cannot figure out everything. But when you put all these people in one room, there's going to be an option and a solution for us.

Ron Barkley: Yeah, I appreciate that. With the collective brain power, think of, what is it, 33 practices, all successful in their own right, in their respective markets? I think you've got got something to work from definitely. With that I'd like to thank you both, Dr Blau, Dr McAneny, for your insights. And again congratulations on your achievement here in forming ONCare Alliance. And thanks to our viewers for your interest in today's Business Breakthroughs topic.

Stay tuned. There will be more to come with regard to ONCare Alliance and other innovative cancer care business models in upcoming editions of our Business Breakthrough video series.

And for a subject matter drill-down opportunity, plan on joining us at our annual conference, the Cancer Care Business Exchange, this year, September 6 to 8 in Boston.

Thank you again.