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At the risk of repeating a phrase that has been exhausted this year, the dawn of 2020 brought with it unprecedented times. Whereas a pandemic on its own would have dominated everything else, this year also brought on an economic depression; a racial awakening; record-breaking wildfires, hurricanes, and floods; political turmoil on an extraordinary scale; and a host of additional unique phenomena. (Murder hornets, anyone?)
Healthcare, of course, played a huge (Dare I say, “unprecedented”?) role in the unfolding of the events of 2020, as the world scrambled to provide care for millions of patients stricken with COVID-19 as well as patients with other ailments who were caught up in the upheaval of disrupted healthcare systems.
Cancer care providers have had to deal with the fallout of COVID-19 on their specific practices and patient populations. Patients in active treatment have had to balance their need to continue therapy with the risk of having a compromised immune system amidst a pandemic. Healthcare clinicians and staff have reported exhaustion and burnout that have endangered themselves and their patients. Regular cancer screenings have taken a nosedive, leading to the specter of large numbers of patients being diagnosed too late. Halted or delayed clinical trials have many researchers fearing the pandemic will delay or cancel promising scientific progress. And sudden changes in reimbursement to accommodate new care delivery models have left practices struggling to accurately bill for their services.
These concerns are mirrored in our blog posts this year, and doubtless many of them will be revisited in the year to come. Below are the posts that you found most valuable this year. As you review the helpful information they contain, please take a moment and tell us which topics you’d like us to address in our blog in 2021. Also let us know if you are interested in writing a guest blog about topics of interest to community cancer centers, or if you think you have something to offer as an expert interviewee. Email your suggestions to Barbara Gabriel at bgabriel@accc-cancer.org. We look forward to hearing from you.
Top ACCCBuzz posts of 2020