Docwire News: Pay-for-Performance Reimbursement Associated with Increased Prescription of Evidence-Based Cancer Drugs

A pay-for-performance (P4P) program for cancer drug reimbursement was found to increase use of evidence-based drugs without significant changes to overall spending, according to a new study published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology. Also known as “value-based purchasing”, P4P is a healthcare reimbursement model that offers financial incentives to providers for meeting specific performance measures. “We know that prescribing evidence-based cancer drugs is high-quality care and increases both the length and quality of life for patients with cancer,” said Justin E. Bekelman, MD, Director of the Penn Center for Cancer Care Innovation at the Abramson Cancer Center and a co-lead author of the study, in a press release. “And yet, changing prescribing patterns has been and remains a big challenge. Based on what we found here, paying oncology practices to prescribe evidence-based drugs can serve as a valuable tactic to improve the quality of cancer care.” Read more at Docwire News. For more coverage, see this article in Cancer Network.