Policies & Guidelines

Web-based reporting in the outpatient community setting is not only feasible, but it can identify areas that need quality improvement initiatives, according to J. Russell Hoverman, MD, PhD, Vice President of Quality Programs, Texas Oncology, PA, Dallas.

At the 2016 Cancer Survivorship Symposium, Dr Ganz spoke with Value-Based Cancer Care (VBCC) about the importance of cancer rehabilitation, the politics of surveillance, and the greatest unmet needs facing survivors.

The job of the oncology medical team is to put out the fire, stop the emergency, and save the patient’s life, said Diane Heditsian, Researcher and Patient Advocate, Breast Oncology Program, University of California, San Francisco, during the 2016 Cancer Survivorship Symposium.

A new paradigm of survivorship care is needed that attempts to balance the patient’s total well-being against the often toxic treatment of the disease, suggests Deborah Korenstein, MD, Director of Clinical Effectiveness, Memorial Hospital, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, NY. At the 2016 Cancer Survivorship Symposium, Dr Korenstein outlined a more personal approach to care: assessing the individual patient’s priorities and goals to balance long-term benefits and harms.

Survivorship medicine has never been in more demand, but questions regarding reimbursement remain. According to Jennifer Malin, MD, PhD, Medical Director, Oncology and Care Management, Anthem, if cancer survivorship models are to succeed, they will need to integrate into new healthcare delivery models, with less focus on cost and more on improving care coordination.

Two related studies have documented significant deficiencies in the way the FDA approves expanded or new indications for drugs, using its expedited approval processes with limited evidence.

Sexual dysfunction is prevalent in women with breast cancer, a consequence of treatment that affects pre- and postmenopausal women. However, the safety and efficacy of available treatments remain understudied, according to Shari B. Goldfarb, MD, Medical Oncologist, Breast Medicine Service, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC), NY.

Fertility and early menopause after cancer can pose challenging emotional and medical issues for patients and their clinicians. Survivors who become infertile because of their cancer treatment are at an increased risk for emotional distress and are often affected by unresolved grief and depression, according to Ann H. Partridge, MD, MPH, Medical Oncologist, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston.

San Antonio, TX—An innovative care model program for end-of-life care for patients with cancer improved symptom management, reduced hospitalizations and in-hospital deaths, and increased the use of hospice care.