Cost-of-Care Conversations in Cancer Treatment Fall Short, New Study Reveals
Source: Target Oncology, December 2023
New treatments can come with high price tags, and a population-based, retrospective study revealed that fewer than 25% of patients with cancer have a documented conversation about the financial aspects of their treatment. The data, presented at the 2023 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Quality Care Symposium, showed that only 1767 (20.3%) patients with non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and 689 (24.0%) with melanoma had a formal discussion recorded in their medical records regarding their treatment costs.
“Three-fourths of patients with stage III/ IV non–small cell lung cancer or melanoma did not have a documented cost discussion in their medical records,” Robin Yabroff, PhD, MBA, said in a presentation of the findings. Yabroff is the scientific vice president of health services research with the American Cancer Society.
The findings showed that cost-of-care discussions were less likely among patients with private insurance (OR, 0.54; 95% CI, 0.37-0.80), those in hospitals without a residency program (OR, 0.64; 95% CI, 0.42-0.98), and among those who were not receiving systemic therapy (OR, 0.39; 95% CI, 0.19-0.81).