This article is adapted, in part, from an article that appeared in SROA’s publication, Radiation Oncology for Administrators (Vol 31 No 5).
The National Cancer Institute describes financial toxicity as “problems a cancer patient has related to the cost of treatment.” Out-of-pocket costs, such as copayments, deductibles and coinsurance not covered by health insurance, can cause patients financial distress. Financial hardship due to treatment can cause higher household debt, depletion of savings and even the need to seek bankruptcy protection. Financial issues affect patients’ emotional and physical well-being and their survival. Some patients may even have to delay or abandon treatment.
Teri Bedard, Executive Director, Client & Corporate Resources with Revenue Cycle Coding Strategies, discusses the RO-APM. This content originally appeared in Radiation Oncology News for Administrators, Vol. 31 No. 3.
Teri Bedard, Executive Director, Client & Corporate Resources with Revenue Cycle Coding Strategies, discusses some common billing and coding issues. This content originally appeared in Radiation Oncology News for Administrators, Vol. 31 No. 3.
Susan Vannoni, founder and CEO of Radiation Oncology Consulting LLC (ROC), provides some helpful answers in this Q&A to common questions about treatment delivery and management of stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) and stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT). All codes listed in this Q&A are from the AMA CPT.
As my organization shifts to discussions about participation in the radiation oncology alternative payment model (RO-APM), I am worried about the costs of meeting this new mandate. If our country is serious about a value-based payment system for health care, we must make sure that the total cost of delivering and demonstrating value is part of the equation.