While many are focused on finding a cure for cancer, making treatments more accessible to patients, and early detection or prevention—all critical elements of the cancer paradigm—one aspect of the fight against cancer needs more attention.
Coordinating care across patients, physicians, payers, and specialty pharma can be tricky, and to do that, a comprehensive oncology benefit management platform is needed.
Cancer costs are expected to increase as the years pass, likely reaching $158 billion by 2020, according to the National Cancer Institute, and patients are paying more and more out of pocket due to high-deductible health plans. Additionally, decisions about cancer care are sometimes made without real-time access to the latest clinical evidence, accurate treatment cost figures, and consideration of effective alternatives.
Payers and employers are wary of getting involved in managing oncology benefits, however, for fear of complicating an already messy system or appearing to impede access to care. Another reason for shying away from oncology benefit management is the increasing complexity of the cancer treatment landscape. However, all this leaves patients trying to navigate cancer treatment and being unable to do so effectively.
This is where a comprehensive oncology benefit management (OBM) platform can help. The ideal OBM platform should coordinate care across specialties and disciplines so that patients get the right diagnosis, right drugs, right dose, and right treatment at the right time.
To learn more about how to build and scale this sort of platform, read McKesson Ventures Director Irem Mertol’s recent article published in World Positive Magazine.