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Oral Chemotherapy in Patients with Hematological Malignancies—Care Process, Pharmacoeconomic and Policy Implications

  • Health Economics (N Khera, Section Editor)
  • Published:
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Abstract

Patients with hematologic malignancies are increasing being prescribed oral anticancer medications (OAMs) and/or biologics. These newer targeted OAMs are associated with a host of practical and pharmacoeconomic implications for patients and healthcare providers. Issues such as safety, procurement challenges, and the need for proactive involvement of all stakeholders to optimize adherence for successful use of these agents are increasingly being recognized. The current reactive model is negatively impacting the patient experience through delays in care, financial toxicity, and decreased safety. It also impacts the healthcare providers in the form of lost revenue and staff burnout due to labor-intensive procurement and patient financial assistance burdens. In this review, we describe some of the issues identified and discuss potential strategies to improve patient access, minimize healthcare burden, and review current policy initiatives and patient advocacy efforts to reduce financial toxicity.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Pharmacy, Mayo Clinic, 5881 Mayo Boulevard, Phoenix, AZ, 85054, USA

    Jeffrey Betcher & Elizabeth Dow

  2. Division of Hematology/Medical Oncology, Mayo Clinic, 5881 Mayo Boulevard, Phoenix, AZ, 85054, USA

    Nandita Khera

Authors
  1. Jeffrey Betcher
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  2. Elizabeth Dow
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Correspondence to Jeffrey Betcher.

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Jeffrey Betcher and Elizabeth Dow each declare that they have no conflicts of interest.

Nandita Khera is a section editor for Current Hematologic Malignancy Reports.

Human and Animal Rights and Informed Consent

This article does not contain any studies with human or animal subjects performed by any of the authors.

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This article is part of the Topical Collection on Health Economics

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Betcher, J., Dow, E. & Khera, N. Oral Chemotherapy in Patients with Hematological Malignancies—Care Process, Pharmacoeconomic and Policy Implications. Curr Hematol Malig Rep 11, 288–294 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11899-016-0325-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11899-016-0325-2

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