Dr Marianne Fazen on the Value for Employers in the Oncology Care Model

Oncology care management helps coordinate the clinical aspects of cancer treatment, but it would also be helpful to have a benefits manager to help guide patients through their many options, said Marianne Fazen, PhD, president and CEO of the Texas Business Group on Health.

Transcript (slightly modified)

Do employers see value in participating in the Oncology Care Model?

Yes, of course. Oncology care management is a wonderful service, and helps coordinate a lot of the clinical side of it. But I’ll tell you what’s really needed besides the care management. It’s somebody at the workplace who understands all the different resources and benefits are available. It’s hard for a benefits manager to know where to find where all the policies are and programs.

They can make coverage decisions really well and plan to sign and send us to go see this group of oncologists or go to this particular center of excellence. But to have somebody at the worksite who actually knows what the patient needs and knows all the different programs, policies, what the health plan offers and all that, would be just almost like the dream come true for a lot of employers and it’s something that most of them do not have.