Perceptions of Health Care Providers Concerning Patient and Health Care Provider Strategies to Limit Out-of-Pocket Costs for Cancer Care
Objective: We aimed to describe the perceptions of health care providers concerning patient and health care provider strategies to limit out-of-pocket costs for cancer care. Methods: We conducted semi-structured interviews with 21 cancer care providers (nurses, social workers, oncologists, surgeons,...
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ftmdpi:oai:mdpi.com:/1718-7729/16/4/375/ 2023-08-20T04:08:04+02:00 Perceptions of Health Care Providers Concerning Patient and Health Care Provider Strategies to Limit Out-of-Pocket Costs for Cancer Care Maria Mathews S. Buehler R. West 2009-08-01 application/pdf https://doi.org/10.3747/co.v16i4.375 EN eng Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute https://dx.doi.org/10.3747/co.v16i4.375 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Current Oncology; Volume 16; Issue 4; Pages: 3-8 costs financial burden affordability cancer care rural Text 2009 ftmdpi https://doi.org/10.3747/co.v16i4.375 2023-08-01T00:45:47Z Objective: We aimed to describe the perceptions of health care providers concerning patient and health care provider strategies to limit out-of-pocket costs for cancer care. Methods: We conducted semi-structured interviews with 21 cancer care providers (nurses, social workers, oncologists, surgeons, pharmacists, and dieticians) in Newfoundland and Labrador. Results: Patients try to minimize costs by substituting or rationing medications, choosing radical treatments, lengthening the time between follow-up appointments, choosing inpatient care, and working during treatment to minimize loss of income. Providers respond to the financial concerns of patients by helping them to access financial assistance programs, by changing chemotherapy and supportive drug prescriptions, and by shortening radiation treatment protocols. They admit patients to hospital and arrange follow-up with physicians closer to a patient’s home. Conclusions: Out-of-pocket costs resulting from cancer care are incurred at all phases of treatment and follow-up. These costs are substantial concerns for some patients and their health care providers. Encouraging communication between patients and their providers is needed to identify individuals at risk and to safely modify care plans. Tele-oncology and public drug, medical travel, and leave programs are needed to ensure that patients are better able to afford the costs related to cancer care. Text Newfoundland MDPI Open Access Publishing Newfoundland Current Oncology 16 4 3 8 |
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costs financial burden affordability cancer care rural |
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costs financial burden affordability cancer care rural Maria Mathews S. Buehler R. West Perceptions of Health Care Providers Concerning Patient and Health Care Provider Strategies to Limit Out-of-Pocket Costs for Cancer Care |
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costs financial burden affordability cancer care rural |
description |
Objective: We aimed to describe the perceptions of health care providers concerning patient and health care provider strategies to limit out-of-pocket costs for cancer care. Methods: We conducted semi-structured interviews with 21 cancer care providers (nurses, social workers, oncologists, surgeons, pharmacists, and dieticians) in Newfoundland and Labrador. Results: Patients try to minimize costs by substituting or rationing medications, choosing radical treatments, lengthening the time between follow-up appointments, choosing inpatient care, and working during treatment to minimize loss of income. Providers respond to the financial concerns of patients by helping them to access financial assistance programs, by changing chemotherapy and supportive drug prescriptions, and by shortening radiation treatment protocols. They admit patients to hospital and arrange follow-up with physicians closer to a patient’s home. Conclusions: Out-of-pocket costs resulting from cancer care are incurred at all phases of treatment and follow-up. These costs are substantial concerns for some patients and their health care providers. Encouraging communication between patients and their providers is needed to identify individuals at risk and to safely modify care plans. Tele-oncology and public drug, medical travel, and leave programs are needed to ensure that patients are better able to afford the costs related to cancer care. |
format |
Text |
author |
Maria Mathews S. Buehler R. West |
author_facet |
Maria Mathews S. Buehler R. West |
author_sort |
Maria Mathews |
title |
Perceptions of Health Care Providers Concerning Patient and Health Care Provider Strategies to Limit Out-of-Pocket Costs for Cancer Care |
title_short |
Perceptions of Health Care Providers Concerning Patient and Health Care Provider Strategies to Limit Out-of-Pocket Costs for Cancer Care |
title_full |
Perceptions of Health Care Providers Concerning Patient and Health Care Provider Strategies to Limit Out-of-Pocket Costs for Cancer Care |
title_fullStr |
Perceptions of Health Care Providers Concerning Patient and Health Care Provider Strategies to Limit Out-of-Pocket Costs for Cancer Care |
title_full_unstemmed |
Perceptions of Health Care Providers Concerning Patient and Health Care Provider Strategies to Limit Out-of-Pocket Costs for Cancer Care |
title_sort |
perceptions of health care providers concerning patient and health care provider strategies to limit out-of-pocket costs for cancer care |
publisher |
Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute |
publishDate |
2009 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.3747/co.v16i4.375 |
geographic |
Newfoundland |
geographic_facet |
Newfoundland |
genre |
Newfoundland |
genre_facet |
Newfoundland |
op_source |
Current Oncology; Volume 16; Issue 4; Pages: 3-8 |
op_relation |
https://dx.doi.org/10.3747/co.v16i4.375 |
op_rights |
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.3747/co.v16i4.375 |
container_title |
Current Oncology |
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16 |
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4 |
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3 |
op_container_end_page |
8 |
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1774720146810601472 |