July 2015

Many oncology practices have already made progress in adding appropriate personnel and implementing technology solutions, such as EHR, to enhance their ability to document and report care plans and patient event data. However, to be successful in meeting the specific criteria set forth in the OCM, most existing EHRs will need to be enhanced.

With the cost of newer immunotherapy drugs soaring into the tens of thousands of dollars per month, payers are under increasing pressure to control spending and are tightening the spigot in various ways, oncology professionals told OncLive in a series of interviews.

Physicians have shown they don't have to be quiet participants in the value argument that is raging in oncologic circles.

Insurance plans that limit which doctors have in-network status have become a mainstay of healthcare, helping keep costs down but stoking concerns and complaints from hospital administrators and regulators about patients' access to care.

Edward Cancer Center is eagerly hoping to be selected to participate in the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services' new Oncology Care Model, a pilot program that will require the cancer center to measurably cut costs even as it beefs up its services and analytical capabilities.

Social media – which broadly defined encompasses many different forms of Web-based exchange – has the potential to make a deep imprint on oncology practice, but many clinicians are still reluctant to participate.