WellSpan Cancer Institute in York, Pennsylvania, has received the 2025 Innovator Award from the Association of Cancer Care Centers (ACCC). The award recognizes the institute’s use of machine learning-enabled decision support to improve outcomes for cancer patients.
The institute integrated a 12-month mortality risk model into its clinical workflows. This technology helped reduce in-hospital mortality and healthcare costs, while increasing palliative care utilization. The ACCC Innovator Awards honor cancer programs that improve access, quality, and value in cancer care.
Nik Korgaonkar, MD, vice president and Chief Medical Officer-Oncology at WellSpan Health, said, “WellSpan Health is committed to developing leading-edge practices and continuous improvement measures to advance the future of the health care industry from right here in Central Pennsylvania. Deploying these solutions within the WellSpan Cancer Institute has advanced the organization’s mission to be a trusted partner to our patients, so that they always feel safe when in our care.”
The predictive analytics score used by WellSpan is based on patients’ comorbidities, age, and current condition. It identifies which patients would benefit most from palliative care consults. As a result of using this model, WellSpan saw an 84% increase in palliative care referrals and a 14% decrease in in-hospital mortality among advanced cancer patients.
Andrew Munchel, Quality Program Administrator of the Oncology Service Line at WellSpan Health, stated, “Using machine learning to identify patients in need has allowed our team to have the right high-value conversations with those who could most benefit from palliative care, given the limited time they have. Rather than expanding our workforce by hiring a whole new team to address this need, we expanded our impact significantly by embracing technology we already had but weren’t fully utilizing.”
Munchel and his colleagues will present their innovation at the ACCC 42nd National Oncology Conference. More information about WellSpan’s program is available on the ACCC website, including a video describing how the predictive score was integrated into workflows and an interview with Munchel on an episode of the CANCER BUZZ podcast.
Further details about the ACCC Innovator Award sessions and conference agenda can also be found on the ACCC website.
