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| “We’ve had great scientific advances, and we can give great targeted therapy, and all of this is extremely costly,” says Dr. Patricia A. Ganz. “And if we don’t get it right, we’re going to just break the bank.” Photo: A System in Crisis: Charting a Course for High-Quality Cancer Care (Video) |
The report, prepared by an IOM committee chaired by Patricia A. Ganz, MD ’73 (RES ’76, FEL ’78), director of cancer prevention and control research at UCLA’s Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center, attributes the crisis to the growing demand for cancer care among the aging Baby Boom generation, rapidly rising costs, a shrinking pool of cancer-care professionals and dramatic changes in cancer therapies over the last decade that sometimes make it difficult to determine which patients should receive what treatment.
“We have a lot of waste in the system, where people are given treatments that are unnecessary and costly,” says Dr. Ganz. “We’re not just talking about underuse, we’re talking about overuse as well. So the lack of coordination, the lack of the ability to evaluate the quality of care that you might receive, is what’s missing in the healthcare-delivery system today.”
Dr. Ganz says changes across the board are needed and that all stakeholders in the cancer-care community — from patients and researchers to care providers, payers and federal agencies — must work together to reevaluate their current roles and responsibilities in order to improve care and quality of life and outcomes.
In particular, the committee’s report recommends working toward a system in which patients are engaged and informed, care is accessible and affordable, and the cancer-care workforce is adequately staffed, trained and coordinated and provides evidence-based care. In addition, a firm focus must be placed on pursuing quality measurement and performance improvement, improving healthcare information technology and translating research into clinical practice.
