Morgan R.L. Lichtenstein, MD, of Columbia University Medical Center, discusses a single-center prospective study examining the complex relationship between time to oral oncolytic receipt and clinical or process-related factors, such as prior authorization, diagnosis, and insurance type.
Aakash Desai, MPH, MD, of the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, talks about the urgent need for drug pricing reform, given the average expenditure of Medicare part D, and the ultimate out-of-pocket costs for patients with cancer. The promise of precision oncology will fail, says Dr. Desai, if we fail to bring the right drugs to the right patient at the right time, with the right price.
Divya A. Parikh, MD, of Stanford University School of Medicine, discusses findings that suggest an evidence-based tool, the Serious Illness Conversation Guide, may engage patients with metastatic or recurrent urologic cancer in goals-of-care conversations, potentially resulting in an increase of documentation of their goals in the electronic medical record.
Jenny Jing Xiang, MD, of Yale University School of Medicine, discusses a universal, standardized clinical trial prescreening protocol, which streamlined research recruitment and was associated with yearly increases in patient enrollment at the Veterans Administration (VA) Connecticut Cancer Center. The Center became the top-accruing VA site for National Cancer Institute–sponsored trials and was ranked in the top 10 enrolling sites nationally for VA and non-VA hospitals.
Sarah S. Mougalian, MD, of Yale Cancer Center, discusses the increasingly common problem of long wait times for access to oncology care. Her team developed a next-day access program in several of Yale’s oncology services, which was well received by patients and decreased the time to first visit.
Tina Shih, PhD, of The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, discusses the rising cost-sharing requirement from private insurance, which has worsened the financial burden for patients with cancer. She believes that cost-containment policies alone may not be enough to ease this hardship.
