Joseph Alvarnas, MD, of the City of Hope and editor-in-chief of Evidence-Based Oncology, admits that he was once “oblivious” to his patients’ concerns about the cost of cancer treatment. However, it is important for clinicians to empathize with these fears and understand how they can factor into a patient’s care choices.
Joseph Alvarnas, MD, of the City of Hope and editor-in-chief of Evidence-Based Oncology, admits that he was once “oblivious” to his patients’ concerns about the cost of cancer treatment. However, it is important for clinicians to empathize with these fears and understand how they can factor into a patient’s care choices.
Transcript (slightly modified)
How does cost sharing influence outcomes in oncology?
This is a fascinating question, because I’ll tell you that for years, actually decades, patients have asked me, “What does this cost?” And I’ve been completely oblivious to that answer. And over the last 5 years I’ve realized that me being oblivious to the cost of care was inadequate because for some patients, this idea that either through tiered co-payments or even through co-insurance, that part of the cost of that care, which could in fact be quite substantial, was theirs, was going to be borne by them.
So when we look at a lot of healthcare coverage these days, that deductible factors very deeply into a patient’s care choices, into how they view different options offered to them. And this idea that patients can live with the fear of financial devastation and bankruptcy as part of their healthcare experience is something that has to give us a certain sense of humility, has to give us a certain sense of pause, and also I think forces us as practitioners to assume greater ownership over these sorts of ideas, which is something that frankly I hadn’t done previously.
What We’re Reading: ChatGPT in Health Care; Menthol Ban Meeting; Health System Cyberattack Impact
November 30th 2023ChatGPT is changing health care while also raising questions about artificial intelligence's promises and limitations; 24 Biden officials met with the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives to discuss the FDA’s proposal to ban menthol cigarettes; a recent hospital cyberattack shows how the vulnerability of health care systems can put patients at risk.
Read More
Oncology Onward: A Conversation With Thyme Care CEO and Cofounder Robin Shah
October 2nd 2023Robin Shah, CEO of Thyme Care, which he founded in 2020 with Bobby Green, MD, president and chief medical officer, joins hosts Emeline Aviki, MD, MBA, and Stephen Schleicher, MD, MBA, to discuss his evolution as an entrepreneur in oncology care innovation and his goal of positively changing how patients experience the cancer system.
Listen