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Financial toxicity: a common problem affecting patient care and health

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Financial toxicity describes the negative effects of the economic burden of medical care on patients that potentially lead to poor well-being and quality of life. Co-ordinated efforts at the care provider, health system, insurance and government level, supported by emerging research into remedial approaches, are needed to address this problem.

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Fig. 1: Contributors, aspects, modifiers and potential effects of financial toxicity of medical care.

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Acknowledgements

The authors are thankful for funding for the Emotional Well-being and Economic Burden Research Network from the National Center For Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH) and the Office Of The Director of the National Institutes Of Health (OD) (U24AT011310).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Preventive Medicine, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, USA

    Maria Pisu

  2. O’Neal Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, USA

    Maria Pisu

  3. Center for Innovation in Health Equity Research, Department of Preventive Medicine, University of Tennessee Health Science Center, Memphis, TN, USA

    Michelle Y. Martin

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  1. Maria Pisu
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  2. Michelle Y. Martin
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Correspondence to Maria Pisu.

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The authors declare no competing interests.

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Pisu, M., Martin, M.Y. Financial toxicity: a common problem affecting patient care and health. Nat Rev Dis Primers 8, 7 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41572-022-00341-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41572-022-00341-1

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