ASCO is applauding new Institute of Medicine (IOM) recommendations for establishing a “learning health system” in the United States, and calling upon other medical specialties to join in achieving this vision of high-quality, high-value medical care. ASCO's recently launched multi-phased rapid-learning initiative, CancerLinQ, aims to achieve the IOM’s core recommendations for the field of oncology.   

“We commend the IOM for laying out a compelling, realistic vision for the future of medical care – one in which each patient’s experience helps us achieve better care for all patients,” said Sandra M. Swain, MD, President of the American Society of Clinical Oncology. “ASCO wholeheartedly supports the IOM’s recommendations.  We not only share the vision of this new report, but are already working to achieve it in the cancer care arena with CancerLinQ.”

The new IOM report, “Best Care at Lower Cost: The Path to Continuously Learning Health Care in America,” describes a rapid learning system that will use real-time knowledge to improve outcomes, engage patients and family members, create a new culture of care and form a continuous cycle of learning and improvement. The report makes ten recommendations for developing the rapid learning system in health care.  Through its work on CancerLinQ, ASCO is already working to address seven of these recommendations.

When complete, CancerLinQ will have the ability to assemble and analyze millions of unconnected medical records from cancer patients in a central knowledge base, which will grow “smarter” over time. This rapid learning system will harness technological advances to connect oncology practices; measure quality and performance; obtain new insights from the vast pool of “real-world” data on cancer care; and provide physicians with decision support in real time.  In developing CancerLinQ, ASCO is addressing the new IOM recommendations by:

• Developing a prototype for breast cancer to determine and overcome the technological barriers in improving the capacity to capture clinical data;
• Seeking data use agreements with oncology practices and other organizations to input de-identified patient records into the prototype;
• Utilizing a limited set of ASCO’s and other  clinical practice guidelines in the prototype to demonstrate evidence-based clinical decision support and quality measurement;
• Developing a vision for integrate ASCO’s Quality Oncology Practice Initiative (QOPI^®), which measures and promotes improved physician/patient communication and coordinated health services, into the future development of CancerLinQ.

“ASCO plans to continue its efforts in developing a system that is vital to advancing the way cancer is understood and treated,” said Dr. Swain. “We will work with health care providers, patient advocates and policymakers to achieve this vision.”

The CancerLinQ prototype will be shared at ASCO’s inaugural Quality Care Symposium, taking place November 30-December 1, 2012, at the Manchester Grand Hyatt in San Diego.

For more information, go to: www.asco.org/CancerLinQ.