NATIONWIDE SURVEY ON THE OPINIONS OF CANCER PATIENTS AND PERSONNEL ON COST OF METASTATIC COLORECTAL CANCER TREATMENT
Author(s)
Sailas L1, Kuoppala J2, Kataja V3
1North Karelia Health Care District, Joensuu, Finland, 2FIMEA, Kuopio, Finland, 3Central Finland Health Care District, Jyväskylä, Finland
OBJECTIVES: Cost of cancer care is rising rapidly due to elevating number of patients and increasing price of cancer medication. We investigated the opinions of cancer patients and personnel on acceptable cost of cancer care provided by national health care service in different outcome-scenarios of metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC). METHODS: As part of a larger nationwide study the survey included all University and Central Hospitals with cancer centers in Finland. The questionnaire was delivered during a two-week period to all patients visiting Oncology centers, and their personnel. Background information included sex, age and education for all, and, marital and working status, and type and stage of cancer for patients. There were five cost levels from less than 5 000€ /year to more than 100 000€/year in four scenarios: treatment is curative; survival gain is some years; survival gain is some months; treatment is relieving symptoms with no effect on survival, at case ages 50 or 75. RESULTS: CONCLUSIONS: Personnel accepted higher cost of mCRC-treatment than patients. The case’s age affected substantially professionals‘ opinion but not the patients´. In the most usual clinical scenario, ie. patient age closer to 75 than 50 and possible survival gain measured in months, the accepted maximum cost by both patients and personnel does not reflect reality.
Conference/Value in Health Info
2016-10, ISPOR Europe 2016, Vienna, Austria
Value in Health, Vol. 19, No. 7 (November 2016)
Code
PCN225
Topic
Health Policy & Regulatory
Topic Subcategory
Public Spending & National Health Expenditures
Disease
Oncology