Policies & Guidelines

On March 30, 2011, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced its highly anticipated proposed national coverage decision concerning the prostate cancer immunotherapy sipuleucel-T (Provenge; Dendreon).

Chairpersons of the various National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) tumor panels presented clinical practice updates at the recent 16th Annual Conference of the NCCN. Key updates, and relevant discussions, are highlighted.

On November 2, 2010, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued its Physician Fee Schedule and Hospital Outpatient Prospective Payment System final rules for 2011.

Evaluation of a regional payer-based pay-for-quality (P4Q)oncology program showed thatPathways programs can greatly reduce the cost of cancer care by slowingthe growth rate of both drug andnondrug expenses.

A Canadian study examining the reasons why a patient with cancer will visit the emergency department near the end of life points out shortcomings in current care delivery systems and suggests a greater role for more effective palliative care, say the authors.