Current practice for screening and management of financial distress at NCCN member institutions.

Authors

null

Nandita Khera

Mayo Clinic, Phoenix, AZ

Nandita Khera , Jessica Sugalski , Diana Krause , Richard Butterfield III, Nan Zhang , Warren Smedley , F. Marc Stewart , Joan M. Griffin , Yousuf Zafar , Stephanie Lee

Organizations

Mayo Clinic, Phoenix, AZ, National Comprehensive Cancer Network, Fort Washington, PA, National Comprehensive Ca, Plymouth Meeting, PA, Mayo Clinic, Scottsdale, AZ, Patient Care Connect - Powered By UAB Health System, Birmingham, AL, Fred Hutchinson/UW/Children's Hospital, Seattle, WA, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, WA

Research Funding

Other

Background: Deficiencies and barriers exist to delivering comprehensive and affordable cancer care. Understanding the variation in organizational commitment, existing programs, and expected outcomes for screening and management of financial distress is needed. Methods: Representatives from 17 of 27 NCCN Member Institutions (63%) completed an online survey in November 2018 conducted by the NCCN Best Practices Committee. Centers were classified based on number of unique patients seen per year, as large ( > 10,000) (76%), or small ( < 10,000) (34%). The survey focused on institutions’ screening and management practices for patient financial distress, perceived barriers in implementation, and leadership attitudes. Results: Routine screening for financial distress was reported by 77% of centers, and most used social worker assessments (94%). 56% screened patients throughout the cancer journey. Help with drug costs, meal or gas vouchers and payment plans were offered by 100% of centers. Formal pre-authorization programs and assistance with claims and denials was offered by 81%. Charity care for medical costs was provided by 100% of the large centers compared to only 33% of small centers (p = 0.03). Median number of social workers (24 vs. 3; p = 0.01) and pharmacy representatives (6 vs. 2; p = 0.02) was also different between large and small centers. 76% evaluated the impact of financial advocacy services through number of patients assisted (85%), bad debt and charity write-offs (85%) or patient satisfaction surveys (54%). 6% and 12% reported overall effectiveness of institutional practice for screening and management of financial distress as poor/ very poor respectively. Inadequate staffing and real time resources (69%), limited institutional budget (50%), lack of reimbursement (50%), and clinical time constraints (50%) were reported as potential barriers in provision of these services. 94% agreed about stronger integration of financial advocacy services into oncology practice and 84% felt that success of these services should be a quality metric. 31% of large centers vs. 100% of small centers plan to increase staffing in this area in the next 5 years. Conclusions: Majority of NCCN Member Institutions report screening and management programs for financial distress, though the actual practices and range of services vary widely. Information from this study can help centers benchmark their performance relative to similar cancer programs and identify best practices in this area.

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Abstract Details

Meeting

2019 ASCO Annual Meeting

Session Type

Poster Session

Session Title

Symptoms and Survivorship

Track

Symptom Science and Palliative Care

Sub Track

Psychosocial and Communication Research

Citation

J Clin Oncol 37, 2019 (suppl; abstr 11615)

DOI

10.1200/JCO.2019.37.15_suppl.11615

Abstract #

11615

Poster Bd #

307

Abstract Disclosures

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