The Oncology Care Model: Additional Concerns

Bruce Feinberg, DO; Scott Gottlieb, MD; Brian Kiss, MD; and Ted Okon, MBA, continue to discuss the Oncology Care Model established by the CMS and how it is likely to affect physicians and their practices.

Dr Kiss explains why his organization opted not to participate in the Oncology Care Model, but rather to collaborate with healthcare systems independently.

The Oncology Care Model will impact the physician’s choice to see and care for Medicare patients, projects Dr Gottlieb. Additionally, he remarks, the new model is likely to further affect community practices and result in consolidation because of its complex structure and burden on physicians.

Because the model includes a vast number of performance-based measures, and because these measures are constantly changing, physicians don’t understand how they are being measured, explains Mr Okon. To describe the effect of this issue, he compares a physician who attempts to work under the new model with an athlete who tries to play golf blindfolded.