Why Value-Based Cancer Care Can’t Wait

Physicians and patients don’t always agree on which outcomes are most important in cancer care. An example is the amount of time it takes to initiate treatment after a solid tumor diagnosis. Shortening the time-to-treat interval wouldn’t impact the medical outcome in the view of most oncologists, but to an anxious cancer patient, any wait is too long. And with medical value (and reimbursement) increasingly tied to delivery of patient-centered, timely care, the oncology community must embrace initiatives to quantify and improve these issues.

In this viewpoint article in the Journal of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network, Cleveland Clinic Taussig Cancer Institute Chairman Brian J. Bolwell, MD, and Vice-Chair for Clinical Services and Strategy Alok A. Khorana, MD, make the case for value-based, patient-focused cancer care and describe Cleveland Clinic Cancer Center’s initial efforts to shorten time to treatment using integrated practice techniques.

Photo Credit: ©Russell Lee