Oncology Practice Management - September 2015, Vol 5, No 6

Burnout among oncology providers hinders thriving and development at the individual level and delivery of value at the system level, said 2 experts during a practice management session at the 2015 American Society of Clinical Oncology annual meeting. Read More ›

Although still evolving, oncology medical homes have demonstrated the ability to improve patient care, outcomes, and satisfaction while saving money, agreed speakers at a practice management session at the 2015 American Society of Clinical Oncology annual meeting. Read More ›

Attendees at the 2015 Association for Value-Based Cancer Care conference heard Robert “Bo” Gamble, Director of Strategic Practice Initiatives, Community Oncology Alliance (COA), describe recent accreditation initiatives for the oncology medical home (OMH) model. Read More ›

Public and private payers, policy advisors, and oncologists and nurses from the audience debated how to measure quality in cancer care during a panel discussion at the 2015 Association for Value-Based Cancer Care conference. John Fox, MD, MHA, Senior Medical Director and Associate Vice President of Medical Affairs, Priority Health moderated the discussion. Read More ›

The definition of value by patients with cancer does not necessarily coincide with other definitions by other stakeholders. According to one breast cancer advocate, when patients are asked to define “value” in the context of their cancer treatment, cost is not the first thing that comes to mind. Read More ›

Payment models that align reimbursement to support treatment planning and care coordination encourage oncology care providers to adhere to cancer treatment pathways, said Jennifer Malin, MD, PhD, Staff Vice President for Clinical Strategy, Anthem, Thousand Oaks, CA, at the 2015 American Society of Clinical Oncology annual meeting. Read More ›

As most state legislatures adjourn from their 2015 session, we have begun to reflect on key policy trends emerging this year. In terms of policy impacting cancer care, efforts to limit patient exposure to rising drug costs and maintain access to potentially life-saving treatments have continued to grow, and we are seeing an increase in the number of bills introduced by state legislators and the number of policy approaches regarding these issues. Although there was a focus on achieving oral chemotherapy parity over the past several years, we now see broad proposals to cap copays, limit the use of specialty drug tiers, and limit the use of step therapy. Read More ›