Hospice Video Educational Tool Shows Promise for Patients with Advanced Cancer and Their Caregivers
July 24th 2020Though the video did not have a statistically significant impact, those assigned to watch the video appeared to be more informed about hospice care and reported more favorable perceptions of hospice.
Study Finds Medicaid Expanded States Diagnose Breast Cancer at Earlier Stage
July 24th 2020A Yale study found that states with expanded Medicaid diagnosed women with breast cancer at an earlier stage of disease and was associated with a reduced number of uninsured patients when compared to non-Medicaid expansion states.
IOM Report: Solving Cancer Care Crisis Starts With Improving Patient Engagement, Team-Based Care
October 30th 2013Delivering patient-centered care and engaging in shared decision-making should be top priorities for oncologists responding to the current crisis in the quality of cancer care delivery, according to a recent Institution of Medicine report.
ASCO Issues ‘Top 5’ List of Overused Cancer Tests and Treatments
October 29th 2013The American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) today issued its second “Top 5” list of tests and treatments that are routinely used by oncologists despite a lack of evidence that they are cost effective or beneficial to patients.
Cancer Care and Accountable Care Organizations: The Unknown Patient Experience Landscape
October 15th 2013ACOs can provide the structure, but it’s up to the stakeholders to establish mutually agreeable goals for this new care delivery model. Achieving these goals will require a different set of dialogues and conversations among stakeholders, and patients and their advocates must have seats at the table.
Oral Oncolytics: Part 2-Legislation Targeting Cost & Access, and Other Initiatives to Reduce Costs
September 15th 2013We examine efforts to correct cost inequities of oral anti-cancer agents through legislation, and we look at further efforts to reduce the cost of oral chemotherapy via cycle management and waste reduction.
Cancer Centers Struggle With Cost, Complexity of Measuring Quality
August 23rd 2013Most community cancer centers are only beginning to measure quality of care and are struggling with the challenge of collecting data while adding services and keeping costs in check, concluded a recent survey by the Association of Community Cancer Centers (ACCC).
Cancer Groups Call for Clarity on Patient Access to Clinical Trials
June 23rd 2013A group of cancer and other healthcare advocacy organizations applauded a provision in the Affordable Care Act that requires private insurers to cover the routine medical costs of patients participating in clinical trials. However, many of those patients will continue to face roadblocks to participating in trials unless the federal government provides clear guidance on implementation, the groups said in a recent letter.
US Cancer Organizations Say Medicare Cuts Will Negatively Impact Cancer Patients
April 29th 2013Four of the nation’s cancer organizations--including the COA and ASCO--believe that the sequestration cuts will impact the treatment of cancer patients on Medicare and have sent letters to Congress and the Department of Health and Human Services.
Oncologists Hope Congress Will Exempt Cancer Drugs From Sequester Cuts
April 27th 2013Oncologists hit by sequester budget cuts to the cost of purchasing and administering cancer drugs are hoping that the potentially devastating impact on Medicare cancer patients will force a quick legislative fix in Congress.
Using Social Media in Oncology for Education and Patient Engagement
September 12th 2012We presented an interactive session entitled “Using Social Media in Oncology for Education and Patient Engagement” at the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) 2012 Annual Meeting. This article summarizes the points made in those presentations.
ICD-10: Getting Sucked in and Surviving
July 15th 2012ICD-10 is a massive undertaking that expands our current 13,000 codes to 68,000 codes. It will impact nearly all business processes in a physician's practice: verification of eligibility, pre-authorization, clinical documentation, research activities, public health reporting, quality reporting, and claim submission.
Medicare Thought Leader Provides Opinion on Medicare Savings Program
May 4th 2011Gail R. Wilensky, PhD, has written an editorial on the Medicare reform that was published on April 27. 2011 in the online version of the NEJM. Professor Wilensky is an ecomomist, senior fellow at Project HOPE, and serves on Congressional committees to advise Congress on payment and other Medicare-related issues.