Independent Oncology Practices in the COVID-19 Era—Does US Cancer Care Need a Bailout?
Ce dossier présente un ensemble d'articles concernant la prise en charge des cancers durant la crise sanitaire liée au COVID-19
The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has exposed the fragility of US cancer care. Though half of US oncology practices are independent,1 these mostly physician-owned practices, sometimes the only cancer care providers in their communities, often struggled financially even before the pandemic. Today, with COVID-19 expected to result in at least 19 million people becoming uninsured or transitioning to Medicaid2 and national guidelines recommending careful consideration or delay of cancer treatment, outpatient cancer visits are at half of prepandemic levels, and chemotherapy administration is down 13%.3 This is slashing revenue for oncology practices. While oncology-specific data are not available, US labor statistics showed that physicians’ offices eliminated 240 000 jobs in April alone.4 As financial pressures put some independent practices on the verge of collapse, patients’ access to cancer care could be threatened. In this Viewpoint, we detail the particular risks confronting independent oncology practices and offer 3 solutions to mitigate those risks: identify practices crucial to preserving cancer care access; promote their short-term stability; and pivot toward a system that adequately pays for comprehensive cancer care services (...)
JAMA Oncology , article en libre accès, 2019