Cancer care is time-sensitive. Yet many of the delays cancer survivors face aren’t clinical at all—they’re the ripple effects of transportation trouble, food insecurity, unstable housing, lost wages, or caregiver strain. Most health systems ask about these needs but far fewer can consistently turn a positive social needs screen into a referral that translates into the survivor receiving services from a community-based organization (CBO). This is where real-time connection—not another directory—moves the needle.
Patients Shouldn’t Have to Chase Help: Closing the Referral Loop
When a referral disappears into voicemail or an inbox, everyone feels it. Patients wait without knowing if anyone will reach out. Navigators burn time chasing updates and worrying whether patients are getting the non-medical but critically important services they need. Clinicians worry that a missed infusion or medical appointment will compromise patients outcomes and their own income. This is how well-intentioned directories fall short: they publish names and numbers BUT
- DON’T commit to a timely response
- DON’T guarantee service delivery for eligible patients
- DON’T close the feedback loop with healthcare teams.
All too often, referred patients – who are already overwhelmed – give up hope that there are services available to address their social need. Medical teams don’t know that patients have been left hanging, and even if they do, clinic staff don’t have easily accessible information – or time – to re-direct patients to other programs.
What accountability looks like in practice
ConnectedNest approaches the problem from three vantage points—patients, community partners (CBOs), and oncology teams—so each can do their part without extra friction.
- EmpowerNest empowers patients to self-identify their needs and choose a local CBO. Patients have choice and consent-based sharing.
- CommunityNest creates one queue for Community-Based Organizations. CBOs commit to a ≤48-hour response time and transparency regarding eligibility criteria, capacity and waitlist.
- EngageNest offers care teams one platform for efficient monitoring of patients’ needs and referral status. This helps assure that non-medical but critical social support services are addressed during patients’ medical treatment planning.
Early signals from the field
In a recent study, patients successfully selected organizations when choices were mapped to their personal and immediate needs. They were able to choose a local partner themselves, without staff assistance. CBO partners routinely acknowledged referrals within the target window of 48 hours. Clinical navigators reported more workflow efficiency with fewer phone calls. The platform made it easy to identify patients needing to be referred to different providers. The most important outcome: patients didn’t experience delays in getting services.
Why this scales in oncology
Curated partners have a meaningful relationship with Xanthos and feel actively engaged as part of their patients’ care team. This dynamic leads to their willingness to initiate secondary referrals to network CBOs when new or additional patient needs are identified. The platform makes it easy for CBOs to engage another vetted program with the same KPIs and performance accountability – thus maintaining patients’ trust.
A path from pilot to portfolio
Identifying and addressing non-medical or social care needs is critical to the efficacy of a patient’s cancer care plan. ConnectedNest sets a standard for its network of Community-Based Organizations and reports outcomes. When a patient’s need is acknowledged quickly, support services are available and accessible, and status is visible to oncology care teams, a referral becomes part of the treatment plan—not a hope.
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