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- Clinical
trials are now a key component of quality cancer care in the community
setting. With expanded reimbursement by Medicare and other payors, even
smaller programs are developing clinical research programs.
In its second
report on quality in cancer care, the Institute of Medicine calls for
a national cancer quality data set and a national data system to collect
standard data about quality of care. Download this new report at: http://books.nap.edu/catalog/9970.html
Many predict
that very soon, Medicare will no longer allow any mark-up in chemotherapy
prices in physicians' offices. The impact of this change on hospitals
will be dramatic.
National
guidelines, such as those of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network,
are recommending conformal radiation therapy and twice daily treatment
for some cancers. How will this impact your radiation therapy service
as patterns of care change?
Addressing
the "disconnect" between the bench and the bedside: more funding
for translational research, and more funding for cancer research as a
whole. $10 billion for cancer research by 2005?
The National
Cancer will continue to provide funds for cancer center planning and new
cancer center designation. If yours is a large, mature program in a teaching
hospital, is this an option for your program's development? Or is affiliation
with an existing NCI-designated cancer center your best choice?
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