Q&A with Sarah Cannon’s Andy Corts, Part 2: Finding the Right Pathways

When an individual is diagnosed with cancer, he or she goes from having a primary care physician to having a team of care providers, including nutritionists, surgeons, and radiologists. It can become overwhelming, to put it mildly. It’s precisely why Sarah Cannon, the Cancer Institute of HCA Healthcare, implemented a system of cancer navigators to help guide patients and their families by coordinating appointments, answering questions, and providing education. These cancer navigators, says CIO Andy Corts, “are our most precious resource.”

The challenge came in harnessing the data — which can be complicated in any area, but is infinitely more difficult in the “incredibly fragmented” oncology environment. Corts and his team have made it their key priority to combine data sets into a common warehouse and leverage analytics to be able to “view the entire patient journey.” In this interview, he talks about how they’ve been able to define a cancer data model, how they’re partnering with Digital Reasoning to automate manual processes and enable more personalized care, and the journey that brought him to HCA, and eventually, Sarah Cannon.

Chapter 1

Chapter 2



* Care navigators — “They’re our most precious resource.”

* From one PCP to a team of providers

* Working with Digital Reasoning to analyze pathology reports and automate processes

* AI models – “They’re build on statistics.”

* Past experience in IT management & consulting

* Leading a small team – “It was fun. I like to get my hands dirty.”

* Sarah Cannon’s mission: “All we do is focus on care delivery.”



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Bold Statements

We don’t always employ the surgeons. We don’t always employ the radiation oncologists and the medical oncologists. But ultimately, the patients see us as a home. And so our philosophy was every patient deserves a concierge who can be there for them as they’re going through this journey.

We’re constantly updating the model as more and more data comes in. I think we’re incredibly lucky in that from a pathology perspective, HCA has over 2 million reports in our Meditech record on an annual basis. That sample size ultimately can drive a better model.

I’ve been happiest when the learning curve is the steepest. And in cancer, there’s never a dull moment. There’s always a new technology, a new genetic or genomic test, or a new implication for a treatment pathway.

‘We’re going to get you an answer as quickly as possible as to whether you need to continue investing in this drug.’ That’s what our platform is designed to do. It’s what all of our information systems are designed to do — to get the trial started as quickly as possible and get the drug to that patient.

Gamble:  A big part of that, I’m sure, is helping physicians to be more efficient with their time, but then also being able to dedicate more time to patient care — which is critical in any space, but particularly in oncology.

Corts:  In looking at our history of becoming a research company to manage the cancer service line for HCA, our biggest initiative that we launched was around cancer navigation. Because we’re a community hospital, we don’t always employ the surgeons. We don’t always employ the radiation oncologists and the medical oncologists. But ultimately, the patients see us as a home. And so as we launched, our philosophy was every patient deserves a concierge of sorts who can be there for them as they’re going through this journey.

When a patient is diagnosed, they can, overnight, have eight to nine different cancer care providers, whether it’s a nutritionist,