City of Hope in Duarte, California, announced the formal launch of AccessHope, a wholly owned subsidiary dedicated to serving employers and their health-care partners. Instead of requiring patients to travel to City of Hope, AccessHope exports insights from National Cancer Institute–level subspecialists to employees, family members, and their treating oncologists to improve clinical outcomes and quality of life and to optimize cancer care.
AccessHope partners with employers to provide employees with cancer information and expert clinical decision support. The program integrates with an employer’s other health-care partners—including health plans, third-party administrators, and pharmacy benefit managers—to provide services. Recognizing the central role of the community oncologist, AccessHope offers collaborative support that is informed by current research: diagnosis and treatment plan consultation, recommendations for possible clinical trials, precision medicine guidance, and other best practices.
AccessHope also can decrease health-care costs. Cancer treatment options may frequently exceed $1 million per patient, and cancer is commonly in the top three diagnostic categories for employers, driving 12% or more of total medical spending, in addition to contributing significantly to employee absenteeism. AccessHope can reduce overall health-care costs for employer-sponsored health plans, because a more precise treatment plan from the start can markedly reduce the cost of treating cancer.
AccessHope has designed a suite of cancer support services that fill a much-needed gap in comprehensive care, with offerings that include accountable precision oncology, expert advisory review, cancer support teams, and expert evaluation.
