June 2013

The oncology pipeline is crowded, despite the fact that the agents in development target a broad range of tumor types.

In 2011, the Medicare Electronic Health Record Incentive Program began paying physicians and hospitals for the measurement and reporting of performance metrics through the utilization of certified electronic medical record software.

More oncology providers have shifted toward consolidation of practices to remain viable. In the last 4 years, 524 private practices have entered into agreements with or have been acquired by hospitals.

The lack of attention in systematically measuring quality and value in cancer care became particularly obvious when working with the Oncology Medical Home Steering Committee on its objective of defining 16 quality, value, and outcome measures for cancer care.