Cancer drug pipeline is healthy, says head of oncologic drug approval for FDA
August 1st 2008The US Food and Drug Administration is often depicted as an obstructionist bureaucracy that inhibits the development of life-saving cancer drugs. But according to an FDA insider, the real story on drug approval has remained untold.
An Aging Patient Population, and too Few Oncologists
July 1st 2008Over the past 2 decades, advances in cancer treatment have greatly improved survivorship statistics in the United States. As the oncology community works to ensure that this upward survival trend continues, it’s important for us to recognize the serious challenges that lie ahead.
US Oncology Launches Oncology-Specific Service for Billing and Reimbursement
June 1st 2008US Oncology, Inc, is launching Oncology Reimbursement Solutions (ORS), an oncology-focused billing and reimbursement service designed to increase operational efficiency and improve the economics of independent community-based oncology practices.
Medicare Reimbursement Changes Likely Influenced Changes in Prostate Cancer Treatment
May 27th 2008Financial pressures from Medicare reimbursement changes may have caused physicians to switch from providing hormonal-induced castration to providing surgical castration for men with prostate cancer. That is the finding of a new study published in the May 15 issue of CANCER. The study suggests that factors other than evidence-based medicine may have a significant influence on treatment decisions.
ACCC views 2008 as a year of economic challenges
February 1st 2008Since the passage of the Medicare Modernization Act of 2003, community cancer centers around the country have been struggling to balance the delivery of optimum care with an ever-tightening reimbursement climate. Cancer Care & Economics (CC&E) talked with the Association of Community Cancer Centers (ACCC) Manager of Provider Economics & Public Policy, Matthew Farber, MA, about the challenges of the upcoming year.
New oncology-specific EMR system available for testing
December 1st 2007The high cost of implementing new technologies has slowed the adoption rate of health information technologies, especially among smaller oncology practices. Based in Rockville, Maryland, Argole Systems, Inc. is a software and services company that recently released the beta version of Akessa Oncology, its new oncology-specific practice management and EMR system. Cancer Care & Economics spoke with Argole president, CEO, and co-founder Masoud Khorsand, MD.
ASCO urges CMS to reconsider ESA coverage decision
September 1st 2007Oncologists have protested to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) that new rules restricting coverage of erythopoiesis-stimulating agents (ESAs) contradict Food and Drug Administration's approved labeling for the drugs and tie the hands of physicians treating cancer patients with chemotherapy-induced anemia.
Compare your costs with ASP and Medicare allowable
September 1st 2007The price of oncology medications is skyrocketing, and reimbursement rates for these agents are often inadequate. This situation may be hurting your medical practice more than you realize. You need to determine what you are paying for your oncology drugs, as compared to the Average Sales Price (ASP) and to the Medicare allowable for these drugs.
Response to CMS Proposal on ESAs
July 1st 2007In a recent letter to Steve Phurrough, MD, of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), Joseph S. Bailes, MD, chair of ASCO's Government Relations Council, asked that CMS withdraw its proposed decision memorandum regarding coverage of erythropoiesis-stimulating agents (ESAs) in nonrenal disease indications
Medicare Reacts to Recent Scrutiny of ESAs
June 1st 2007The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has reacted to an FDA "Black Box Warning" for erythropoiesis-stimulating agents (ESAs), manufactured by Amgen (Ara-nesp and Epogen) and Johnson & Johnson (Procrit) by proposing a national coverage decision (NCD) that would put limits on the dose and duration of therapy in patients with cancer and related neoplastic conditions.
Feds Cut Cancer Funding, But at What Cost to Research?
March 1st 2007Over the past several decades, investment through the National Cancer Institute (NCI) has become an essential source of support for academic and clinical cancer research. The dividends paid by this investment have been discoveries that have reduced suffering and mortality due to cancer. For cancer patients and survivors, it is money well spent.
Teleoncology Improves Access to Care for Rural Patients: As Utilization Goes Up, Costs Go Down
January 1st 2007In rural areas, access to quality cancer care is especially challenging. The cumbersome process of traveling long distances for care is exacerbated by the symptoms associated with disease, leaving many rural cancer patients undertreated. However, a relatively new telecommunication technology offers one way to overcome the geographic barriers faced by rural Americans. Cancer Care & Economics (CC&E) spoke with Ryan J. Spaulding, PhD, director of the Center for Telemedicine and Telehealth at Kansas University Medical Center (KUMC), Kansas City, about how telemedicine helps serve patients in rural Kansas.
Proposed Medicare OPPS Rule Draws Fire for Its 'Inadequate Reimbursement'
September 1st 2006Under a proposed rule covering Medicare payments for outpatient services, hospitals would receive $32.5 billion in calendar year 2007, which includes a 3.4% inflation update over the 2006 payment rates of the Outpatient Prospective Payment System (OPPS), according to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS).
Medicare Coding for Oncology Services Moves Into a New Era
May 1st 2006Medicare codes for oncology services have been in transition over the past few years, and oncologists are dealing with more changes now as Medicare moves from the temporary G-codes used in 2005 to cover administration of chemotherapy and other services to the permanent Current Procedural Terminology or CPT codes, which kicked in this year.
2006 CMS Oncology Demonstration Project Aims to Improve Quality Through Evidence-Based Care
May 1st 2006After a rocky start with a 2005 Demonstration Project designed to assess symptoms of nausea and vomiting, pain, and fatigue in Medicare patients receiving chemotherapy, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has shifted toward improving quality through more effective payments and evidence-based care. This will include assessing whether patients are treated according to evidence-based standards of care (typically the NCCN or ASCO guidelines) and focusing payments on patient-centered care rather than administration of chemotherapy, Christopher E. Desch, MD, national medical director of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network, said at the 11th Annual NCCN Conference.
CMS Seeks Methods to Appropriately Reimburse High-Quality Cancer Care
February 1st 2006In February 2005, Mark McClellan, MD, PhD, head of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), appointed Peter Bach, MD, MAPP, an associate attending physician at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, to serve as senior advisor on health care quality and cancer policy. A pulmonologist and intensivist by training, Dr. Bach has a strong reputation for research on quality cancer care, helping develop guidelines for lung cancer and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).