Barriers to early detection: Insurance denials for breast MRI screening in women with germline BRCA1/2 mutations.

Objectives: Women with germline BRCA1/2 pathogenic variants (gBRCA1/2) are recommended to undergo annual breast MRI and mammography. Our objective was to describe the frequency of insurance denials for annual breast MRIs in women with gBRCA1/2 and determine denial trends.

Methods: Women with gBRCA1/2 following in a high-risk breast cancer clinic with breast MRIs ordered from 2020 to 2021 were identified and cross-referenced with a database of insurance denials.

Intravascular Large B-Cell Lymphoma Case Report: A Diagnostic Challenge.

A 66-year-old female presented to the hospital for evaluation of multiple strokes over a three-month period. The patient underwent extensive testing to evaluate for autoimmune vasculitis and other hypercoagulable entities that were negative. Bone marrow and lymph node biopsies showed no evidence of lymphoma.

Association of Participation in Medicare's Oncology Care Model With Spending, Utilization, and Quality Outcomes Among Commercially Insured and Medicare Advantage Members.

Purpose: The Oncology Care Model (OCM), a value-based payment model for traditional Medicare beneficiaries with cancer, yielded total spending reductions that were outweighed by incentive payments, resulting in net losses to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. We studied whether the OCM yielded spillover effects in total episode spending, utilization, and quality among commercially insured and Medicare Advantage (MA) members, who were not targeted by the program.

Patients And Methods: This observational study used administrative claims from a large national payer, yielding 157,189 total patients with commercial insurance or MA with solid malignancies who initiated 229,376 systemic anticancer therapy episodes before (2012-2015) and during (2016-2021) the OCM at 125 OCM-participating practices (a subset of total OCM practices) and a 1:10 propensity-matched set of 860 non-OCM practices.

New Federal Guidance Makes It Harder for Patients With Cancer to Access Drugs.

A recent interpretation of the Stark Law limits cancer practices from delivering drugs to their patients by mail or courier-a perverse interpretation of a law meant to curb physician self-referrals and one that has led to patient harm.

Association Between Oncology Clinical Pathway Utilization and Toxicity and Cost Outcomes in Patients With Metastatic Solid Tumors.

Purpose: This retrospective observational study compared cancer care toxicity and cost outcomes for patients with metastatic cancer with nine different cancer types prescribed on- versus off-pathway regimens.

Methods: This study used claims and authorization data from a national insurer between January 1, 2018, and October 31, 2021. Participants included adults with metastatic breast, lung, colorectal, pancreatic, melanoma, kidney, bladder, gastric, or uterine cancer, who were prescribed first-line anticancer regimens.

Incorporating Cost Measures Into the Merit-Based Incentive Payment System: Implications for Oncologists.

Purpose: The Merit-Based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) is currently the only federally mandated value-based payment model for oncologists. The weight of cost measures in MIPS has increased from 0% in 2017 to 30% in 2022. Given that cost measures are specialty-agnostic, specialties with greater costs of care such as oncology may be unfairly affected.

Tenets for Implementing Electronic Patient-Reported Outcomes for Remote Symptom Monitoring During Cancer Treatment.

Purpose: Symptoms are common in patients receiving systemic treatment for metastatic cancer. Monitoring patients with electronic patient-reported outcomes (ePROs) detects severe and worsening symptoms early, enabling care teams to intervene and prevent downstream complications and thereby improving outcomes. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services will require patient-reported outcome (PRO) monitoring in the upcoming Enhancing Oncology Model, and many practices will likely attempt to implement PROs in patient care for the first time.

Oncologist Participation and Performance in the Merit-Based Incentive Payment System.

The merit-based incentive payment system (MIPS) is a value-based payment model created by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to promote high-value care through performance-based adjustments of Medicare reimbursements. In this cross-sectional study, we examined the participation and performance of oncologists in the 2019 MIPS. Oncologist participation was low (86%) compared to all-specialty participation (97%).

Temporal Trends, Predictors, and Outcomes of Disseminated Intravascular Coagulation in Hospitalizations With Sepsis.

Background This retrospective study was conducted to analyze the temporal trends, predictors, and impact of disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC) on outcomes among septicemic patients using a nationally representative database. Methods We derived data from the National Inpatient Sample (NIS) for the years 2008-2017 for adult hospitalizations due to sepsis. The primary outcomes were in-hospital mortality and discharge to facility.

Factors Associated With Cancer Treatment Delay Among Patients Diagnosed With COVID-19.

Importance: The COVID-19 pandemic led to disruptions in delivery of cancer treatments; factors associated with treatment delay among patients with cancer who contract COVID-19 need further characterization.

Objective: To assess the associations of patient factors, social determinants of health, severity of COVID-19, and timing of COVID-19 diagnosis with the risk of treatment delay.

Design, Setting, And Participants: This prospective cohort study was conducted from March 2020 through July 2021 at 60 academic and community medical practices in the United States.