Empowered Patient Podcast Breaking Down Barriers and Addressing Disparities in Access to Quality Cancer Care with Dr. Todd Sachs AccessHope
Dr. Todd Sachs, Chief Medical Officer at AccessHope, highlights why socioeconomic disparities in cancer mortality have widened. The key is access to screening tests, often limited by the cost and location of the testing facility. Geography also impacts access to sub-specialists with the most current information available. Todd emphasizes the importance of removing these geographic barriers and increasing collaboration between sub-specialists and community oncologists with access to National Cancer Institute-designated Comprehensive Centers to ensure patients benefit from the latest innovations and evidence-based treatments.
Todd explains, "With the amount of information coming out, it's challenging for patients because there's more information for them to have to sort through and sift through and understand to decide what's best for them. That same amount of information is challenging for a community oncologist because I don't know how they keep up with all of the advancements and best practices. They're taking care of 20 to 30 people a day and treating a variety of different types of cancers. I think it's almost unrealistic of us to expect a community oncologist to be that jack-of-all-trades. The knowledge that we're increasing because of the advances is wonderful but also widening the gap."
"What does that mean in everyday use? We've seen that community oncologists may over-utilize a treatment, under-utilize it, or mis-utilize it because they're unaware of new guidelines or treatments. This happens much more in cancer and less likely with diabetes, hypertension, or cholesterol because the amount of information in those particular conditions or diseases is far less than what you're seeing in cancer."
"That's why we feel that at AccessHope, that complex should be reviewed by an NCI CCC expert, and that's why AccessHope was born. We were born to be, I would say, in essence, the chassis between the individual and their families to the renowned experts at these centers, regardless of where they live."
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