Nobel Peace Prize Winner Stephen Schneider Keynotes Annual Conference of Community Oncologists
professor of Environmental Biology and Global Change at
climatologist and cancer survivor who shared the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize with
former Vice President
annual Community Oncology Conference
settings, where 84% percent of the cancer care in this country is provided,
ranging from private practice-based oncologists, hematologists, oncology
nurses, and pharmacists to practice administrators.
“The future of the country’s cancer care delivery system is in jeopardy,”
explained
(COA) and managing partner of Hematology-Oncology Centers of the Northern
Rockies in
Americans with cancer, are facing tough decisions to cut staff, services, and
facilities, due to major problems associated with Medicare drug and services
reimbursement. At this week’s annual COA Conference, cancer healthcare
professionals from around the nation will address and discuss how we can avert
this crisis.”
The Crisis in Cancer Care
Since the passage of the Medicare Modernization Act of 2003, reimbursement
for cancer care by Medicare, which covers approximately 45% of Americans with
cancer, has been cut dramatically. With diminishing service payments, numerous
community clinics have no choice but to close their doors. Loss of these
community treatment options leads to treatment of more patients in the general
hospital setting, especially under-insured or uninsured patients, which can
drive up costs and result in inefficiently coordinated, substandard treatment
and increased likelihood of medical errors.
Solutions to Be Studied
COA has been working with Congress to ensure that cancer patients will
continue to receive quality care in their own communities. Towards that end,
COA will announce the initiation of two comprehensive studies to identify the
aspects of current reimbursement policies that now risk the delivery of modern
day, quality cancer care in community oncology practices and quantify the
negative impact of these policies. COA has commissioned Avalere Health, a
strategic healthcare advisory firm, to conduct the studies.
The Components of Care Study will quantify the full range of services
performed by community oncology practices, including those currently
reimbursed by Medicare and private insurers as well as many of the services
that are unrecognized and thus uncompensated by payers. The study will include
an in-depth survey of thousands of oncologists in 300 community oncology
settings to provide data regarding the time physicians and staff spend on each
component of care, as well as financial information about the actual capital
and expense costs necessary for operating a community oncology practice.
The second study, the Oral Oncolyctics Study, will identify existing
barriers to patient access for oral vs. injectable/intravenous cancer
treatments, and the ability for physicians to make decisions regarding the
most appropriate mode of treatment administration. After identifying the
barriers, the study will identify potential strategies to remove obstacles to
accessing oral oncology therapy.
About the Community Oncology Conference
The conference is designed to meet the specific needs of the community
oncology practice, from timely clinical presentations to practice management
tools, government lobbying efforts and payer strategies. It promises to be a
highly useful meeting for those struggling to continue to provide quality care
in their communities.
For the first time, the conference will host a “Town Hall” meeting to
provide cancer care professionals at all levels with the opportunity to
discuss these and other pressing issues facing community oncology. The
open-mike session will be hosted by
medical oncologist and chairman of the conference, along with
executive director.
Dr. Schwartzberg will also moderate a panel on “The
Who Will Pay for Cancer Care?” The panel highlights a pressing issue for
community oncologists, who treat 84 percent of cancer patients. Many are
being forced to close their offices as government and insurance reimbursements
no longer cover the costs of cancer drugs and the costs to treat patients.
Documentary filmmaker,
Dreams” and who has been diagnosed with leukemia, will participate in the
panel discussion, “Living with the Specter of Cancer.”
The conference is sponsored by Community Oncology Alliance; Community
Oncology, the Elsevier publication that serves as an invaluable resource for
oncology practitioners in private practice; Reed Medical Education and
Office of Nursing Continuing Education, Elsevier companies which provide
continuing medical education to healthcare professionals.
About Community Oncology Alliance (COA)
COA is a non-profit organization dedicated solely to community oncology.
COA was founded by community oncology to advocate for patients and providers
in the community oncology setting, where 84% of Americans with cancer are
treated. In only six years of existence, COA has mobilized community oncology
to become more politically active, and increased awareness on Capitol Hill
about the community cancer care delivery system. Additionally, COA has brought
together community oncology practices from across the country to share
information in order to enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of the cancer
care they provide to their patients.
Currently, COA is working with the Congress in proving proactive solutions
designed to protect the viability of the nation’s cancer care delivery system
and patients’ access to quality, affordable cancer care. The cancer death rate
in the U.S. has declined due to earlier detection, the quality of treatment,
and the accessibility of cancer care. However, according to the American
Cancer Society, men still have an approximately 1 in 2 lifetime risk of
developing cancer, with a risk of 1 in 3 for women. For more information,
please visit http://www.communityoncology.org.
SOURCE Community Oncology Alliance