Out-of-the-Box Solutions for Building Clinical Capacity in Community Settings to Improve Standardized ERBB2 (HER2) Testing in NSCLC

Early and comprehensive biomarker testing in NSCLC is of critical importance as it is associated with improved long-term survival and access to targeted therapies that can dramatically alter the disease course. However, real world assessments in community oncology practices demonstrate that comprehensive NGS-based testing, including evaluation for ERBB2 (HER2) alterations, remains inconsistent and is frequently delayed or omitted, and many clinicians still begin systemic therapy before biomarker test results are available. Significant operational barriers, including inadequate tissue procurement workflows, lack of formal test tracking processes, limited multidisciplinary collaboration, and long turnaround times from outside laboratories compound these gaps, especially in community settings where staffing and infrastructure are constrained. To improve NSCLC biomarker testing and treatment selection, knowledge-based education is only the first step; teams also require practical, system focused support to redesign workflows, standardize testing protocols, and reliably act on molecular testing results. This scalable digital QI program is designed to help community practices close these gaps in the care of patients with advanced/metastatic NSCLC by offering an easy to implement, data driven framework that integrates training, process improvement, and multidisciplinary coordination and can be adapted to practices of all sizes.
 
Educational Partner: Academy for Continued Healthcare Learning (ACHL)

Medium: Digital QI

Commercial Support: Supported by an educational grant from Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

Target Audience

This activity is intended for multidisciplinary providers treating patients with NSCLC in the community cancer setting including thoracic oncologists, thoracic surgeons, medical oncologists, molecular pathologists, pulmonologists, oncology pharmacists, clinical pharmacists, patient navigators, tissue navigators, and other members of the multidisciplinary team.

Learning Objectives

Upon completion of this activity, learners will be able to:

  • Assess current NSCLC biomarker testing practices to confirm compliance with the latest guideline recommendations for a broad multi-panel approach
  • Develop strategies to mitigate challenges and barriers to standardizing ERBB2 (HER2) testing in all patients with advanced NSCLC
  • Establish multidisciplinary frameworks to interpret biomarker test findings prior to initiating first-line treatment and reassess again when initiating second-line treatment
Additional information
ACGME/ABMS Core Competencies: 
Patient Care and Procedural Skills
Medical Knowledge
Interpersonal and Communication Skills
For more information, please contact:
CME Coordinator Contact Name: 
Nora Eldasher
CME Coordinator Contact Email: 
Summary
Activity opens: 
04/01/2026
Activity expires: 
04/01/2027
CHAIRS
Christine Bestvina, MD
Assistant Professor of Medicine
Section of Hematology/Oncology
University of Chicago Medicine

Melissa Tjota, MD, PhD
Assistant Professor
Department of Pathology
University of Chicago Medicine
 
Disclosure Declarations
As a provider accredited by the ACCME, The University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine asks everyone in a position to control the content of an education activity to disclose all financial relationships with any ineligible companies. This includes any entity whose primary business is producing, marketing, selling, re-selling, or distributing healthcare products used by or on patients. Financial relationships are relevant if a financial relationship, in any amount, exists between the person in control of content and an ineligible company during the past 24 months, and the content of the education is related to the products of an ineligible company with whom the person has a financial relationship. Mechanisms are in place to identify and mitigate any relevant financial relationships prior to the start of the activity.

Additionally, The University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine requires Authors to identify investigational products or off-label uses of products regulated by the US Food and Drug Administration at first mention and where appropriate in the content.
Physician Credit
The University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) to provide continuing medical education for physicians.
 
The University Of Chicago Pritzker School Of Medicine designates this enduring material for a maximum of 2.5 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.
 
Physician assistants (PAs), nurse practitioners (NPs), and nurses may participate in this educational activity and earn a certificate of completion as AAPA, AANP, and ANCC accept AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™ through their reciprocity agreements.
 
Successful completion of this CME activity, which includes participation in the evaluation component, enables the participant to earn up to 2.5 MOC points in the American Board of Internal Medicine’s (ABIM) Maintenance of Certification (MOC) program. Participants will earn MOC points equivalent to the amount of CME credits claimed for the activity. It is the CME activity provider’s responsibility to submit participant completion information to ACCME for the purpose of granting ABIM MOC points.


Completion of this activity, including the pretest, posttest, and follow-up assessments, qualifies as a medium weight MIPS improvement activity under MACRA and can be claimed as completion of IA_PSPA 28 of an Accredited Safety or Quality Improvement Program in the Quality Payment Program. Clinicians should submit their improvement activities by attestation via the CMS Quality Payment Program website. You will receive additional information after completing the activity and receiving your certificate via email.
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