Oncologist-owned Practices Provide Cheaper Care than Hospitals

Costs to treat and care for cancer patients can be 3 to 14 percent less depending on the type of cancer treated when care is coordinated by oncologist-owned practices than by hospital-owned practices, according to an analysis presented today at the American Society of Clinical Oncology’s annual meeting.

The retrospective analysis of pharmacy and medical claims was conducted by HealthCore, WellPoint’s outcomes research company. Funding for this open architecture analysis was provided by Genentech, a member of the Roche Group.

“While the difference is significant, the cause is not completely clear,” said Dr. Jennifer Malin, WellPoint medical director for oncology. “Some of the differential can likely be attributed to higher facility fees paid to hospitals, but we can’t say that hospitals consistently use more expensive tests or therapies as an initial analysis suggests the opposite. More work needs to be done in this area to determine why.”

Original report: http://on.mktw.net/1uefoXQ

Source: MarketWatch