Topic
Effective Managed Care Plan for Cancer Treatment
Background
Cancer is one of the serious medical conditions of the 21st century. In the United States, the disease is the second highest killer. Despite this, access to quality oncological care is still a challenge to many cancer patients. This is due to the high cost associated with the care and lack of special healthcare facilities and qualified cancer specialists. Despite these challenges, most Americans are members of a managed care system. This system entails various strategies meant for the reduction of the cost of health care services and improvement of the quality of the provided care. Some of the common managed care plans include health maintenance organization (HMO), managed care in a public setting (MCPS), preferred Provider Organization (PPO), and Independent Practice Association (IPA), Private Fee-For-Service (PFFS), and Point of Service (POS). The purpose of the proposed study is to determine the kind of managed care program which is effective for the treatment of cancer patients.
Importance of the Topic to Managed Care
The managed care system is an integral part of the health care market. This system has expanded considerably in the recent years to include various methods of the delivery of care services and the different insurance covers chosen by health consumers. There is need to understand how cancer patients can benefit from the managed care system. These patients need an effective managed care plan which can enable them to receive quality health care services at a reduced cost. These can help them to achieve positive health outcomes for their oncological care. An effective managed care program is one which treats oncologists as partners in the delivery of the healthcare services. In this case, the oncologists help to serve as the advocates of their patients. They determine the kind of affordable health care services that are appropriate to the health conditions of the patients. This helps to ensure that the cancer patients benefit from quality health care services.
Literature Review
Researchers and scholars of different times have given important ideas on the relationship between managed care and the practice of oncology. Their information can be used to determine the type of managed care plan which is appropriate to the treatment of people living with cancer. Bailes (2000) examined the paradoxes associated with the managed care system of health care delivery. From his analysis of the system, the author established that fears pertaining to access to care and the quality of care provided are common among most people who are facing diagnosis for cancer. McGivney and Mullen (2005) explored the challenges associated with the care of cancer during the 21st century. They found that the high prevalence of the disease and the cost associated with its treatment have made it necessary for patients to seek health care services under the managed care system.
Colosia et al (2011) investigated whether it is possible to reduce the cost of cancer treatment while maintaining high-quality care standards. They suggested that this depends on how the term “quality” is defined by various stakeholders in the healthcare system. Physicians, patients and representatives of managed care programs have different perceptions pertaining to what quality care of cancer means. Byfield (2013) sought to understand to understand the treatment patterns, cost, and resources associated with the care of the insured Americans living with pancreatic cancer. The authors concluded that the treatment is a serious burden to the United States healthcare system since its treatment in the advanced stages is costly. Cliby et al (2015) studied the effect of the process of care and institutional factors on the survival of ovarian cancer patients. The authors recommended that it is necessary for national health efforts to be concentrated on improving access to cancer centers and ensuring that guideline care is delivered.
Questions to be Investigate and Learned About
The following is a list of questions that I hope to investigate and learn more about from the proposed research:
- Main Study Question:
What is the most effective care plan which can be used in the treatment of cancer patients?
- Supporting Questions:
- What are the characteristics of an effective managed health care plan?
- How does each of the managed care plans stated above help in the reduction of the costs associated with cancer treatment?
- Do the managed care plans lead to an improvement in the delivery of health care services by oncologists?
- Is there any significant impact that these care plans have on the achievement of positive health outcomes among cancer patients?
Implications for the Healthcare Administrator
The planned research may have important implications for the health care administrators. It will help them to understand the kind of managed care plan which is highly effective in terms of lowering health care costs for cancer patients. The research will also enable the administrators to realize how the managed care plans influence the delivery of cancer care services. It is also important to note that the research will help them to understand how the care plans can be used to improve the quality of care and promote positive healthcare outcomes among the people suffering from cancer.
References:
Bailes, J. (2000). Managed Care and Oncology: The Quality Debate. Journal of Clinical Oncology, 18 (4): 705-707.
Byfield, S. D., Smyth, E. N., Mytelka, D., Bowman, L. & Teitelbaum, A. (2013). Healthcare costs, treatment patterns, and resource utilization among pancreatic cancer patients in a managed care population. Journal of Medical Economics, 16 (12): 1379-1386.
Cliby, W. A., Powell, M. A., Al-Hammadi, N., Chen, L., et al. (2015). Ovarian cancer in the United States: Contemporary patterns of care associated with improved survival. Gynecologic Oncology, 136 (1): 11-17.
Colosia, A. D., Peltz, G., Pohl, G., Liu, E. et al. (2011). A Review and Characterization of the Various Perceptions of Quality Cancer Care. Cancer, 117 (5): 884–896.
McGivney, W. T. & Mullen, J. (2005). Cancer and Managed Care in the 21st Century. The American Journal of Managed Care, 11 (17): S509-S521.
