Dane Schroeder, EVP, Payer and Access Communications at BGB Group, shared on LinkedIn:
“The most effective cancer treatments in the world can’t help patients who never get them.
That’s what I kept coming back to while reading Gina Kolata’s New York Times piece (link in Comments) on targeted cancer therapies.
John Ebers endured dozens of rounds of chemotherapy for colorectal cancer before a second opinion led to a biomarker test and a targeted treatment option.
He is far from alone. Only about half of patients with metastatic colon cancer get the testing that guidelines call for.
There are many things to blame for this – awareness and cost being two of the biggest ones.
While oncologists struggle to keep pace with learning about the roughly one new cancer drug being approved each week, their staff are left doing the heavy lifting to make sure these drugs can actually be prescribed.
The journey of access to a precision therapy may start with a test, but it quickly turns into a maze of prior authorizations, coverage, financial support, and new operational workflows.
Often practice and patient support exists, but it’s not always reaching the right people at the right time.
Closing gaps like this one is the work my team cares about most.
Getting access right with payers is essential – but getting it right with the people who make treatment happen means patients are not left waiting when time is so critical.
Mr. Ebers says he’s betting on himself.
Patients like him should be able to focus on their battle with cancer, not the healthcare system.”
Other articles about precision oncology on OncoDaily.