​New study shows this may hinder identifying patient financial needs and tracking outcomes of associated referrals.

A new large population-based pilot study, announced June 13, led by researchers at the American Cancer Society and the National Cancer Institute shows cost discussions were infrequently documented in medical records of patient diagnosed with advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and melanoma, which may hinder identifying patient financial needs and tracking outcomes of associated referrals. The findings are published in the journal Cancer.

“Cancer diagnosis and informed treatment decision-making can be complicated, especially when  the costs of care and the potential for patients to experience financial hardship are considered,” said lead study author Dr. Robin Yabroff, scientific vice president, health services research at the ACS. “Professional organizations have long recommended discussions about treatment costs as part of high-quality care, but these discussions continue to be uncommon. We need to do a better job of ensuring that treatment cost discussions between patients and provider teams occur and are well-documented, especially when high-cost treatment options are available.”

“Efforts to increase cost of care discussions and relevant referrals, as well as their documentation are warranted as part of ongoing quality care improvement,” added Yabroff.

Like and share the news on X. Also, like and share the ACS News post on X congratulation Dr. Yabroff on becoming a Fellow of ACSO.