Practice Manager Insider

Oncologists Face Potential “Demographic Tsunami”

The first annual Oncology World Congress Meeting held November 16-19, 2005 in New York City opened with a preconference session on practice management, which centered on how oncologists can improve cancer patient care as well as reimbursement. Dr. David H. Regan of Northwest Cancer Specialists, Portland, OR, lamented that although Medicare is spending more money on care in general, the increase in payments to oncologists is still less than the increase in costs to deliver the services covered. He warned, “we are entering a ‘demographic tsunami,’ if a serious discussion does not take place between policy makers, the private sector, insurance companies, and oncologists,” citing the combined effects of a population that lives longer, a greater demand for quality care, reduced coverage from Medicare, and opposition from private insurance companies as factors affecting the future of oncology care. In addition to being encouraged to search for ways to improve reimbursement for services, physicians were pushed to help patients enroll in clinical trials and use results from clinical trials as a way to move public policy toward better care choices.

Gap in Satisfaction and Care Between Urban and Rural Oncologists

A recent survey released by the Oncology World Congress showed that oncologists practicing in suburban and rural areas are less satisfied with their access to drugs, technologies, and trials as compared with oncologists who practice in urban/metropolitan areas. Dr. Waun Ki Hong, Oncology World Congress chair, said, “With an estimated 90% of US oncology care performed outside of academic cancer centers, community oncologists are in crucial need of timely information on
research advances and emerging technologies, as well as greater access to clinical trials and new therapies.” According to the survey, 41% of the physicians polled in both urban and rural settings say that issues with standard health coverage and Medicare present the greatest limitations to effective treatment. The gap in satisfaction and care between urban and rural oncologists will be one of the issues addressed by Dr. Hong and more than 170 colleagues at the Oncology World Congress Meeting, scheduled to take place November 16–19, 2005 in New York City.