Via Oncology Develops Regimen Costing Tool for Cancer Care Stakeholders
Pittsburgh, PA (PRWEB) March 28, 2017 -- Via Oncology, the leading provider of oncology pathways built for and by physicians, announced today the launch of a free, public-facing tool for analyzing the costs of various drug regimens in cancer care.
The Via Cost Analyzer (VCA) was developed to provide comparative information to patients, providers, insurers and pharmaceutical companies about the estimated costs of treatment options. Actual costs may vary depending on insurance plan and patient characteristics.
Using publicly available Medicare reimbursement information, VCA calculates the total estimated cost to Medicare and the patient for a given course of drug treatment. The interactive tool displays all underlying assumptions related to dose, number of cycles, billing increments, vial sizes, etc. and can be modified for specific patient height/weight as well as insurance rates.
“The information in Via Cost Analyzer is critical to our physicians and patients as they review the potential outcomes and costs of treatment options,” said Ray Page, D.O. Ph.D., medical oncologist and president of the Center for Cancer and Blood Disorders.
The initial phase of VCA includes regimens commonly used in breast, colorectal, non-small cell lung, lymphomas and prostate cancers. Today, only the costs of the treatment drugs are included. Future plans include expansion for more diseases as well as other costs such as supportive care medications, drug administration, office visits and other services.
Since patient-specific plan design and coinsurance is not available, VCA presents a Medicare 20% coinsurance as the estimated patient cost. The Medicare Part B reimbursement rates are updated quarterly when new rates are published. Part D reimbursement assumptions are sourced from Medicare’s Plan Finder website.
“We’re excited to be able to respond to the Via Network’s desire for more information regarding the costs of alternative treatments for their patients with cancer and provide all stakeholders with insight into treatment costs,” said Kathy Lokay, CEO of Via Oncology.
Links to VCA are also being added to the Via Portal for each commonly used treatment by disease. Physicians who are interested in understanding the estimated cost of treatment will have an easy way to view this information, especially for shared decision-making discussions with patients.
Via Cost Analyzer can be found at http://www.viaoncology.com/vca/. To learn more about Via Oncology’s full suite of value-based solutions, visit http://www.viaoncology.com or email sales(at)viaoncology(dot)com. Via Oncology is a wholly owned subsidiary of UPMC.
Kathy Lokay, Via Oncology, http://www.viaoncology.com, +1 412-204-1052, [email protected]
Share this article