Oncology

In the ever-evolving field of oncology, one issue remains constant: the need to address health equity in oncology. While advancements in treatments and technologies have been monumental, not everyone has equal access to these life-saving options. This article aims to shed light on the actions that can be taken to ensure health equity in the […]

Palliative care in oncology is essential for creating quality end-of-life experiences. When a patient reaches this point, creating the right family, physical, and other spiritual enhancements is a part of any healthcare practice’s goal. In this article, we’ll cover how you can improve your oncological care, including the palliative stage. Ultimately, this will allow you […]

Did you know that patient education is essential to quality cancer care? The American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) emphasizes that making patient education a crucial part of their Quality Care Model is essential. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services rolled out the Radiation Oncology Model (ROM) in January 2022, which included the requirement […]

We are excited to announce the results of our approach to successfully address the objectives of the Enhancing Oncology model (EOM), a five-year voluntary model announced by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services! Our program addresses SDoH and solves health equity by guiding & informing patient activation and capturing & communicating relevant data back […]

LexisNexis Highlights How Stay at Home Orders Have Impacted Preventive Screenings, Diagnoses Information and analytics provider LexisNexis recently reported that stay-at-home orders have led to alarming trends in preventive screenings for cancer, with reductions of up to 91% in April and May 2020, when compared to the same time period in 2019. The decrease in […]

CMS recently announced the Radiation Oncology Model (RO Model or RO-APM), a mandatory, episode-based payment model for radiotherapy (RT) services. CMS states that the goals of the model are to “improve the quality of care for cancer patients receiving radiotherapy…and move toward a simplified and predictable payment system.” The new radiation oncology alternative payment model […]

OCM 2.0 is a proposed alternative to the current Oncology Care Model (OCM) program, and was created by the Community Oncology Alliance (COA) in June 2019. COA submitted OCM 2.0 to the Physician-Focused Payment Model Technical Advisory Committee (PTAC), an advisory committee that evaluates physician-focused payment models for the Secretary of Health and Human Services […]

The Oncology Care Model (OCM) is an episode-based payment model designed to provide high quality, highly coordinated oncology care at low cost. In order to assess and verify clinical outcomes, patient outcomes, and coordination of care, as well as ensure continued quality of care, CMS measures OCM participants’ performance using quality measures from four of […]

A Monthly Enhanced Oncology Services (MEOS) payment is part of the two-part payment system specific to the Oncology Care Model (OCM). Under OCM, participating Medicare-enrolled physician groups continue to receive regular fee-for-service (FFS) Medicare payments, but also receive a MEOS payment of $160 per-beneficiary for delivery of “enhanced services,” as well as a retrospective performance-based […]

The Oncology Care Model (OCM) is an episode-based payment model developed by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Innovation Center (CMMI) in order to improve the quality of care cancer patients receive at the same or lower cost. According to the National Cancer Institute, “In 2018, an estimated 1,735,350 new cases of cancer [were] […]

In remarks to the Patient-Centered Primary Care Collaborative, HHS Secretary Alex Azar confirmed that new mandatory bundled payment models are coming. During his tenure as Secretary of HHS, Azar has consistently signaled that new, required episode-based payment models are coming, and elaborated on those plans in yesterday’s remarks, saying, “We need results, American patients need change, and […]

Read this story online and see photo at www.uab.edu/news . The UAB News Studio is available for live or taped interviews with UAB experts.   BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Every diagnosis of cancer comes with fear, anxiety, even confusion. Patients are faced with crucial decisions and have an urgent need for information they can trust. Most of all, […]