Using Our Collective Wisdom to Thrive in a Post-SGR World

One of the reasons Julie M. Vose, MD, MBA, FASCO, 2015-2016 president of the American Society of Clinical Oncology, became involved with medicine in the first place was the ability to help patients. However, she said that the administrative burden physicians take on in today’s health system can often take away from that experience.

In her keynote presentation at The American Journal of Managed Care’s 4th Annual Patient-Centered Oncology Care Meeting, Vose said that many physicians feel burned out from all of the administrative tasks they have to do, which they say takes away from their time and ability to take care of their patients in the way they would have liked.

The goals of the healthcare industry aim at improving the care experience for the patient, which includes improving care in and of itself, improving health by not only treating disease but preventing it, and, in the end, lowering costs. Vose explained that there is no simple solution to achieving these national goals; however, examining ways of implementing practice- and evidence-based medicine, looking at the positive changes in healthcare, studying the efficiency of resources, as well as the quality measurements in place, and, lastly, supporting the practices are some of the many ways stakeholders can begin working towards these goals.

“Oncology is built on innovation and this is how we come up with all of our new treatments,” she said. “But of course, we want the new treatments to be able to make sure that we can do that in a value-based manner.”

Vose explained that what oncology stakeholders and physicians are working toward a system that ensures patient-centered care, has evidence-based medicine, quality monitoring, and rapid feedback. Evidence-based medicine has always been at the forefront of oncology care, as it’s the work of the clinical trials that have provided the treatments and outcomes that exist today, she said.

“Value is not only what the patient’s outcome is, it’s also looking at the cost and the toxicities for whatever treatment that we’re doing,” Vose added. “And, we have to put that into a big value-based system to make sure we’re doing the right thing for the patient.”