The Association of Northern California Oncologists (ANCO) recently selected Via Oncology Pathways as a preferred pathways option for its nearly 400 members. Via Oncology Pathways will provide ANCO's hematologist and oncology community with clinical algorithms that will help them standardize best practices for cancer treatment while optimizing patient outcomes and promoting the efficient use of treatment resources.
The incorporation of the treatment pathways tool will serve ANCO members and be a part of the organization's strategy to forge stronger payer-provider cooperation through the use of evidence-based therapies.
"Payers want oncology groups to reduce treatment variation and control costs," said Jose Luis Gonzalez, executive director, ANCO. "Oncology physicians want to maintain their ability to act in the best interests of their patients and to receive appropriate reimbursement. Pathways enable oncology groups to bring a proactive, physician-directed strategy to the table with payers."
The announcement of the deal comes as payers and providers alike seek to find ways to control the cost of cancer therapies while also providing treatment regimens that are known to improve outcomes. In a similar deal last month, Innovent Oncology, a division of US Oncology, announced a continuing relationship with accounting powerhouse Milliman, to help provide outcomes data US Oncology can then use to negotiate oncology treatment contracts with payers.
"The future belongs to oncology groups that adopt evidence-based therapies in order to standardize treatments, achieve good outcomes for patients, and utilize healthcare resources efficiently for payers and patients alike," said Kathy Lokay, president, Via Oncology. "With Via Oncology Pathways, oncology practices can demonstrate that their treatment plans are based on the best, most current scientific evidence. And that establishes the foundation for new partnerships with payers to reduce external utilization controls and align reimbursement incentives to reward efficiency and quality."
Oncologists looking to use Via Oncology Pathways, access the tool via a web portal. Physicians can then select the best treatment for each patient based on the state and stage of the disease.
Via Oncology, a subsidiary of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC), updates its pathways information each quarter by groups combining community and academic oncologists organized into 15 disease-specific committees. According to Peter G. Ellis, MD, medical director of Via Oncology and deputy director of clinical services, UPMC Cancer Centers, each committee and its disease experts then define the best treatments for each disease using a hierarchy of efficacy, toxicity and cost.