Authored by Danielle Schroth, Vice President, Panel Operations, Konovo
As oncology advances, the gap between research and clinical practice continues to widen. While clinical trials provide essential evidence, they cannot fully capture the complexities of real-world care, making direct physician input essential to ensuring that innovation translates seamlessly into practice.
In this article, Danielle Schroth, Vice President of Panel Operations at Konovo, examines the essential role of oncologist expertise in shaping cancer care; the barriers clinicians encounter when contributing their insights; and how thoughtfully designed physician communities can make it easier for oncologists to influence advancements in oncology on their own terms.
In a time of rapid innovation in oncology, why is direct physician input so crucial in bridging the gap between oncology research and clinical decision-making?
Oncology is evolving at an extraordinary pace. We’re seeing increasingly biomarker-driven strategies, tumor-agnostic approvals, cell and gene therapies, and more complex sequencing decisions. While scientific advancements are accelerating, innovation can only succeed when it translates to real-world clinical practice.
That’s why direct physician input is not optional – it’s essential.
While clinical trials provide crucial evidence, they cannot fully reflect the complexities of daily oncology practice, including heterogeneous patient populations, testing variability, access constraints, payer dynamics, workflow limitations, and evolving guidelines. Oncologists bridge that gap – bringing practical, real-world knowledge that goes beyond what trial data alone can show.
Direct physician input ensures that innovation is not developed in isolation from clinical reality. It helps align development plans, education initiatives, and implementation support with how care is actually delivered.
When physicians are part of the feedback loop early and continuously, innovation becomes more practical, adoptable and ultimately more beneficial for patients. At Konovo, we make it simple for oncologists to join our global healthcare expert network, and provide their input quickly, efficiently, and on their terms, so that their voices can actively shape progress in oncology.
We know that oncologists are stretched thin. What are the biggest challenges they face when sharing their expertise?
The biggest barrier is time.
Oncology practice is intensely demanding, and traditional research models often require lengthy surveys or scheduled calls that don’t fit into busy work and life schedules.
There is also a credibility barrier. Many oncologists are understandably cautious about engagements that may feel commercially driven rather than clinically motivated.
When sharing expertise feels both easy and respectful of clinicians’ time and opinions, participation in research surveys becomes sustainable. That’s why we designed our Konovo research communities differently. Our MicroSurveys take around 5 minutes to complete, are mobile-friendly, and entirely optional. Oncologists choose when and how to participate, without any long-term commitment.
What role can structured physician research panels play in ensuring that oncology innovation is informed by real-world clinical practice?
Structured physician research panels create a continuous feedback loop between clinical practice and innovation. Instead of relying on outdated or infrequent insights, stakeholders can gather real-world perspectives within a few days.
In oncology, where treatment paradigms shift rapidly, this agility is critical as it helps stakeholders better understand critical aspects of clinical practice such as:
- Adoption dynamics
- Testing behaviors
- Barriers to implementation
- Educational gaps
When thoughtfully designed, these physician communities bring clinical practice directly into the research and strategy ecosystem – in real time. For oncologists who want to leverage their real-world experience to drive oncology innovation, joining a structured expert community is one of the most efficient ways to do it. At Konovo, our oncology community is built specifically to facilitate this rapid, high-quality exchange while minimizing the burden on participating physicians.
How should HCP communities be designed to respect a clinician’s schedule while still capturing high-impact insights?
The model must accurately reflect clinical reality, and acknowledge the unpredictability of oncology practice.
Four principles guide our approach:
- Brevity: Thoughtfully designed surveys that can be completed in 5–10 minutes.
- Flexibility: Mobile-first access to enable physicians to respond when and where best suits them.
- Relevance: Questions must be clinically intelligent and purposeful. Efficiency does not preclude depth: it simply requires disciplined, HCP-centric survey design.
- Respect: Participation is always voluntary.
Respecting a clinician’s time is not merely a courtesy: it is fundamental to data quality. At Konovo, most of our research panel activities are designed as brief MicroSurveys that fit into busy workloads. This thoughtful approach guarantees high-quality insights while minimizing additional burden.
Aside from compensation, what is the professional return on investment for an oncologist who joins an expert community? What does true physician-centricity look like in practice?
While fair compensation acknowledges professional expertise, many oncologists join expert panels to contribute to the broader evolution of care. True physician-centricity means putting clinicians in control of their engagement, enabling them to:
- Influence how new therapies are introduced and supported
- Highlight access or implementation barriers
- Ensure real-world realities are understood
- Help shape tools that positively impact patient care
- Stay connected to the broader market and treatment trends
For oncologists who want their real-world experience to shape the future of care, Konovo offers a practical and meaningful avenue to do so.
Many oncologists are wary of being ‘marketed to’. How can HCP networks prioritize clinical integrity and meaningful engagement over typical commercial pressure?
Trust is fundamental.
HCP research communities must maintain clear boundaries between research and commercial activities. Engagement objectives should be transparent, the questionnaire must be scientifically grounded and clinically credible, and anonymity and independence must be firmly protected.
When clinicians perceive commercial pressure, trust erodes quickly. When they experience thoughtful and research-driven dialogue, sustained participation becomes possible.
At Konovo, maintaining that integrity within our expert communities is fundamental to our model. We focus on structured insight collection that informs decision-making across the healthcare ecosystem without compromising clinical independence.
As we look toward the future of oncology, what role can physician communities play in ensuring that clinical voices remain central to innovation?
The future of oncology will be defined by increasing complexity, precision therapeutics, AI-enabled diagnostics, combination strategies, and evolving reimbursement models. As scientific sophistication accelerates, real-world clinical insight becomes even more critical.
Physician research communities will play a pivotal role in ensuring that clinical realities shape innovation, not the other way around. Systematically integrating physicians’ perspectives into clinical development and implementation decisions will be critical to translating scientific advances into meaningful patient outcomes.
Keeping the physician voice at the center is not optional – it is essential for the future of cancer care. Your experience matters. We make it easy to share.
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For more information on how you can best leverage our global HCP communities to address your specific research needs, contact us at [email protected].
