scholarly journals NCCN Policy Summit: Innovative Solutions to Drive Down Healthcare Costs: Implications for Access to High-Quality Cancer Care

2021 ◽  
Vol 19 (9) ◽  
pp. 1021-1026
Author(s):  
Terrell Johnson ◽  
Michelle McMurry-Heath ◽  
Ted Okon ◽  
David Rubin ◽  
Robert W. Carlson
Keyword(s):  
Cancer Care ◽  
Healthcare Costs ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
High Quality ◽  
Quality Healthcare ◽  
Quality Cancer Care ◽  
Expenditure Data ◽  
Innovative Solutions ◽  
The Cost ◽  
Policy Solutions

The cost of delivering high-quality healthcare in America now consumes 17.7% of the nation’s gross domestic product according to Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services National Health Expenditure Data. With costs threatening to disrupt accessible and equitable care for patients, policymakers are reassessing all matters and functions of the healthcare system to excise waste, redundancies, and costly services. To explore this subjects’ impact on oncology, NCCN hosted the NCCN Policy Summit: Innovative Solutions to Drive Down Healthcare Costs: Implications for Access to High Quality Cancer Care. This virtual summit featured multidisciplinary panel discussions and keynote addresses. Seeking to address barriers to low-cost, high-quality cancer care, panelists and keynotes presented innovative policy solutions to sustain high-quality oncologic care at lower costs to the health system. This article encapsulates the discussions held during the summit and expounds upon salient points where appropriate.

scholarly journals Evaluating Barriers and Opportunities in Delivering High-Quality Oncology Care in a Resource-Limited Setting Using a Comprehensive Needs Assessment Tool

2018 ◽  
pp. 1-9
Author(s):  
Chika R. Nwachukwu ◽  
Omobola Mudasiru ◽  
Lynn Million ◽  
Shruti Sheth ◽  
Hope Qamoos ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Palliative Care ◽  
Needs Assessment ◽  
Cancer Care ◽  
Assessment Tool ◽  
Hospital Staff ◽  
Teaching Hospitals ◽  
High Quality ◽  
Middle Income ◽  
Quality Cancer Care ◽  
Oncology Care

Purpose Despite recognition of both the growing cancer burden in low- and middle-income countries and the disproportionately high mortality rates in these settings, delivery of high-quality cancer care remains a challenge. The disparities in cancer care outcomes for many geographic regions result from barriers that are likely complex and understudied. This study describes the development and use of a streamlined needs assessment questionnaire (NAQ) to understand the barriers to providing quality cancer care, identifies areas for improvement, and formulates recommendations for implementation. Methods Using a comprehensive NAQ, in-depth interviews were conducted with 17 hospital staff involved in cancer care at two teaching hospitals in Nigeria. Data were analyzed using content analysis and organized into a framework with preset codes and emergent codes, where applicable. Results Data from the interviews were organized into six broad themes: staff, stuff, system, space, lack of palliative care, and provider bias, with key barriers within themes including: financial, infrastructural, lack of awareness, limited human capacity resources, lack of palliative care, and provider perspective on patient-related barriers to cancer care. Specific solutions based on ability to reasonably implement were subcategorized into short-, medium-, and long-term goals. Conclusion This study provides a framework for a streamlined initial needs assessment and a unique discussion on the barriers to high-quality oncology care that are prevalent in resource-constrained settings. We report the feasibility of collecting and organizing data using a streamlined NAQ and provide a thorough and in-depth understanding of the challenges in this setting. Knowledge gained from the assessments will inform steps to improve oncology cancer in these settings.

Editor's Memo

2021 ◽  
Vol 19 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert Figlin
Keyword(s):  
Cancer Research ◽  
Health Equity ◽  
Cancer Care ◽  
Scientific Collaboration ◽  
Opinion Leaders ◽  
High Quality ◽  
Quality Cancer Care ◽  
Key Opinion Leaders ◽  
American Society ◽  
Silver Lining

The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed fundamental disparities in the provision of health care across our nation and exacerbated the differences in health outcomes associated with race, socioeconomic and other demographic factors. A silver lining however is that pandemic precarity has inspired tremendous scientific collaboration among clinicians, researchers, and key opinion leaders. In this line, this year’s Annual Meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO21) which was kicked off virtually on June 4 through June 8, not only celebrated latest breakthroughs in cancer research, treatment and patient care, but also focused on health equity in cancer care. ASCO21’s fitting theme - Health equity “doing right by the patients for whom we care” reflected addressing complex forces and systems that have created disparities in cancer care, treatment, and research and identifying ways to ensure that all patients have access to and benefit from the latest cancer advances and high-quality cancer care.

Health economic assessment of cancer therapy

2016 ◽  
pp. 236-242
Author(s):  
Jeffrey Peppercorn
Keyword(s):  
Health Economic ◽  
Cost Effectiveness ◽  
Cancer Therapy ◽  
Cancer Care ◽  
Quality Care ◽  
Economic Assessment ◽  
Control Cost ◽  
High Quality ◽  
Quality Cancer Care ◽  
Quality And Outcomes

Our ability to deliver high-quality cancer care is increasingly influenced by our ability to understand and manage the costs of care. Though there are considerable differences in the ways healthcare is financed and administered in different nations, there is a common need to deliver high-quality care at sustainable costs. This chapter reviews recent estimates of the aggregate costs of cancer care, discusses methods for determining cost-effectiveness or value in cancer care, provides a framework for understanding the components of cost at the societal and individual levels, and discusses efforts to control cost while preserving or improving both quality and outcomes.

Is “free” really free? Ethical implications of short-term discounts and giveaways to hospitals

2020 ◽  
Vol 33 (2) ◽  
pp. 90-92
Author(s):  
Rose Raizman ◽  
Minette MacNeil ◽  
Rochelle Maurice
Keyword(s):  
Healthcare Costs ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Financial Impact ◽  
Direct Patient Care ◽  
Hospital Services ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Ethical Implications ◽  
Creative Solutions ◽  
Innovative Solutions ◽  
Decision Making Processes

Canadian hospitals participate in provincial and national procurement processes to help reduce healthcare costs. This allows for redirection of funds to direct patient care, along with creating networks, integrating services, and improving innovative solutions. To be competitive, vendors offer creative solutions and provide free or low-cost supplies to hospitals with the hope that patients will continue to purchase those items when discharged. What is not always factored into the procurement decision-making processes is the potential financial impact of the supplies required for patients when discharged from hospital services and other ethical implications of accepting free/reduced-cost supplies. This column provides some guidance for health leaders in this respect.

Improving the bottom line with the same high quality cancer care

2020 ◽  
Vol 159 ◽  
pp. 307
Author(s):  
A.N. Al-Niaimi ◽  
D.S. Huang ◽  
N.H. Mirabadi ◽  
E.M. Hartenbach
Keyword(s):  
Cancer Care ◽  
Bottom Line ◽  
High Quality ◽  
Quality Cancer Care
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