Building cancer centers for the future: Strategic framework

Members of ECG’s Oncology Service Line: Meagan O’Neill, Monica Haggarty, Lee Mandell, Matt Sturm and Jessica Turgon -

In an era of infinite challenges and finite resources, health systems must employ a rigorous approach to strategic and facility planning. This is particularly true for oncology, where the pace of change and innovation is unprecedented.

Many organizations find value in applying a four-phase approach to their cancer center facility planning process:

1. Define key guiding elements unique to the organization (e.g., aspirations, mission, and vision) to chart the course of this planning endeavor and to provide a foundation upon which all future decisions will be made.

2. Develop directional goals to articulate what the organization will need to achieve to realize its vision.

3. Craft strategies to describe how the organization will pursue these goals (e.g., develop requisite research support infrastructure).

4. Determine tactics for each of the identified strategies to provide a roadmap for execution (e.g., hire a research coordinator).

Key Strategic Factors for Oncology Programs
When developing an oncology strategic plan, there are many topical areas and program capabilities to assess, as shown in the figure below. These areas should be developed at the cancer site–specific program level, consider current program capabilities and marketplace competition, and outline how they impact strategy and tactic development.

ECGOncology1

This is part of an ongoing series from ECG Management Consultants about strategic considerations for health systems as they create new cancer facilities. Click here to read the next blog in the series. For more information, visit ECG’s website.

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