Evidence-Based OncologyTM Looks at Changing Ways to Pay for Cancer Care

The current issue of Evidence-Based Oncology™, a publication of The American Journal of Managed Care®, examines how new reimbursement models are making cancer care more patient-centered, but making those models sustainable is challenging.

Changing cancer care payment models are rewarding doctors and practices for making care more patient-centered, but the transition isn’t easy, according to the current issue of Evidence-Based Oncology™ (EBO™), a publication of The American Journal of Managed Care^®. The issue can be found here.

While there have been wondrous innovations in both therapy and practice, cancer care is not yet cost-effective and affordable for everyone, writes Joseph Alvarnas, MD, editor-in-chief of EBO™ and director of Value-Based Analytics at City of Hope, in Duarte, California.

“While we understand the right sensibilities in creating a sustainable care delivery, we have not yet created the ideal model for delivering this consistently, at scale, across a nation of more than 325 million individuals,” Alvarnas writes.

Perspectives on moving to value-based models include:

An overview from authors at Carolina Blood and Cancer Care Associates, who are successfully implementing the Oncology Care Model created by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.
In “The Risk Conundrum in Healthcare,” Peter Aran, MD, explores the challenges of complying with the 2015 Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act (MACRA), given that the concept of risk has historically meant very different things in the clinical setting, compared with the financial one.
Susan Dentzer, CEO of the Network for Excellence in Health Innovation, discusses the need for healthcare and the pharmaceutical industry to reach agreement on value-based contracting, as this approach becomes attractive in an era of extremely expensive cancer therapies.

About The American Journal of Managed Care^®:

The American Journal of Managed Care^® (AJMC^®) is a peer-reviewed, MEDLINE-indexed journal that keeps readers on the forefront of health policy by publishing research relevant to industry decision makers as they work to promote the efficient delivery of high-quality care. AJMC.com is the essential website for managed care professionals, distributing industry updates daily to leading stakeholders. Other titles in the AJMC^® family include The American Journal of Accountable Care^®, and two evidence-based series, Evidence-Based Oncology^™and Evidence-Based Diabetes Management^™. These comprehensive offerings bring together stakeholder views from payers, providers, policymakers and other industry leaders in managed care. To order reprints of articles appearing in AJMC^® publications, please contact Jeff Prescott at 609-716-7777, ext. 331.