Journal Of Oncology Practice Podcast

The author shares his experience as an expert witness in an oncology Medicare fraud case in Michigan. 

Dr. Anthony Back, MD, discusses the sobering question raised by McFarland et al.  The study findings—that inpatient oncology rotations are associated with decreases in interest, empathy, and resilience—suggest that inpatient oncology units have managed to compress into a month a process of hardening previously thought to require years.

The authors discuss key factors to consider that may influence decisions to participate in the Oncology Care Model, by presenting comparable payment reform efforts outside of oncology.

The authors say oncologists should be aware that patients will not find estimates of survival or treatment effect on the Internet, which may contribute to over-optimistic estimates of survival.

The authors discuss the first in a series of articles exploring principles and topics relevant to teams guiding clinicians involved in cancer care. They did not see evidence that multidisciplinary teams affect patient survival or cost of care, and say further research should focus on the association between team processes and structures, efficiency in delivery of care, and mortality.

A discussion with Ron Kline of CMS, which has designed an episode-based model of oncology care that incorporates elements from several successful model tests. It is hoped that this model will demonstrate how oncology care in the US can transform into a high value, high quality system.

  Robert S. Miller, MD. Elaine Towle and Tom Barr discuss the latest National Practice Benchmark Report from Oncology Metrics and review the trends and business climate affecting oncology practices this year.

by Robert S. Miller, MD. Dr. Lee Newcomer of United Healthcare discussed the results of a pilot study of a novel episode payment model coupled with actionable use and quality data as an incentive to improve quality and reduce costs of care.

by Robert S. Miller, MD. Dr. Anees Chagpar discusses findings from the CDC’s 2010 National Health Interview Survey demonstrating a strong correlation between the financial burden of cancer and self-reported quality of life in cancer survivors.

by Robert S. Miller, MD. Dr. Russ Hoverman of Texas Oncology discusses ASCO's and ASTRO's participation in the Choosing Wisely campaign and the important concept of value in oncology.

Stephanie Roberson Barnard discusses her first-person narrative describing the barriers she faced in receiving high-quality, patient-centered care when she was recently treated for breast cancer and some suggestions for improvement.

by Robert S. Miller, MD. Dr. Kerin Adelson discusses the implementation of Epic’s Beacon chemotherapy ordering platform at the Tisch Cancer Institute of Mt. Sinai, New York, and introduces a new quality metric called the rate of evidence-based adherence (REBA), used to measure clinic and provider performance and increase evidence-based practice.

by Robert S. Miller, MD. Dr. Reshma Jagsi and collaborators conducted interviews with medical oncologists to ascertain their attitudes toward and prior experiences with the systematic collection of patient-reported outcomes (PROs) in community oncology and to identify barriers to wider implementation.

by Robert S. Miller, MD. Dr. Douglas Blayney reviews some of the research and presentations from the first ASCO Quality Care Symposium held in San Diego (Nov. 30 - Dec. 1, 2013), and covered in the special May 2013 issue of the JOP.

By Robert S. Miller, MD. Michael Neuss and Martha Polovich discuss the recent updates to the ASCO/ONS chemotherapy administration standards, focusing on the safe administration and management of oral chemotherapy.

by Robert S. Miller, MD. Medical oncologists Mike Thompson and Don Dizon join Claire Johnston, social media manager at ASCO, in a discussion of best practices in using social media for patient education, promotion of clinical trials, and professional networking for oncologists.

by Robert S. Miller, MD. Dr. Anupama Kurup, Chair-Elect of the ASCO Clinical Practice Committee, discusses some early findings from ASCO’s recent census and survey of oncology practices in the U.S.

by Robert S. Miller, MD. Dr. Joseph Herman and Dr. Amol Narang of Johns Hopkins discuss how direct-to-consumer advertising is being used by some providers and medical centers to aggressively promote stereotactic radiation therapy.

by Robert S. Miller, MD. Elaine Towle and Tom Barr from Oncology Metrics discuss their annual National Practice Benchmark Report, and looking at 2011 data, revise last year's predictions and project trends for the next 3 years.

By Robert S. Miller, MD. Linda Parreco, RN, MS of the NCI describes some evidence-based communication strategies that can be used to improve clinical trial discussions with patients.