Care Coordination in Cancer – Are We There Yet?
Care coordination [1] in medicine is a gold standard goal – it’s a core part of quality improvement efforts across the healthcare system. But, in the words of every kid in the back seat of a car on a family road trip, “are we there yet?” The answer is, “no, but we’re getting closer.”
The US Dept. of Health and Human Services Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services – a mouthful reduced to the acronym “CMS”, thankfully – initiated an Oncology Care Model [2] in 2015, which impacts Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries, as well as people covered by private insurance payers participating in the program. There’s an interactive map of participating oncology practices here [3].
What this means on the front lines of cancer treatment – in oncology clinics – is that there is a core set of measures for care coordination [4] that any oncology group can follow, like a road map. Looking at the actual map, linked in the previous paragraph, of where the cancer care coordination model is in use reminds me of cyberpunk sci-fi author William Gibson’s evergreen quote [5], “the future is here, it’s just not evenly distributed.”
One of the reasons that coordination of care is hard in the American healthcare system is that we don’t really have a national healthcare system [6], we have a patchwork of 50 state systems for private-payer and Medicaid coverage, with a national system for those on Medicare. Coordination of care in the United States requires being able to take information from a variety of sources, some of which are in competition with each other over revenue they gain from having that information. CMS, as a national care system, has some policy and market power to dictate [7] “you guys will cooperate, or we’ll take action to make you cooperate,” but given political realities, that power is sometimes blunted by industry influence.
“Are we there yet?” “No, but we’re getting closer.”
What this means, on the ground and in the real world of cancer treatment, is that there’s an opportunity for patients to improve the coordination of their own care, and communities to push for better care in cancer treatment clinics, using this same road map of care coordination measures.
If you, or someone in your family, is dealing with a cancer diagnosis, here are my recommendations for turning the Oncology Care Model into your own care coordination road map:
- If an oncology practice in your community is participating in the CMS Oncology Care Model program, consider them as a first-choice option, and find out if that practice is in-network on your health insurance plan
- Ask the oncology practice treating you if they provide 24/7 access to clinical staff who can see your medical record, and who can answer questions about your treatment, including side effects and other issues that can arise during cancer treatment
- Ask if the practice treating you has patient navigators who can help coordinate care within and outside the oncology clinic – with your primary care team, other clinical teams for any other chronic or acute health conditions you may have
- Ask if the practice treating you has financial counselors who can help you with figuring out costs for your treatment, what costs are covered by your insurance, and how to get help with out of pocket expenses related to deductibles and co-pays
- Ask your oncologist how your treatment protocol is supported by nationally recognized clinical guidelines for treatment of your type of cancer
It’s only when patients and clinical care teams work together that treatment outcomes improve, and quality improvement efforts across the care delivery system also improve. Care coordination – are we there yet? Now, but we’re getting closer … if we all work on this together.
Resource Links:
[3] Where Innovation is Happening
[4] Oncology Care Model Overview
[5] William Gibson’s evergreen quote
[6] An International Perspective On The Paradoxes Of US Health Care
Casey Quinlan covered her share of medical stories as a TV news field producer, and used healthcare as part of her observational comedy set as a standup comic. So when she got a breast cancer diagnosis five days before Christmas in 2007, she used her research, communication, and comedy skills to navigate treatment, and wrote “Cancer for Christmas: Making the Most of a Daunting Gift” about managing medical care, and the importance of health literate self-advocacy. In addition to her ongoing work as a journalist, she’s a popular speaker and thought leader on healthcare system transformation from the ground up.
