by
Loren Bonner, DOTmed News Online Editor | October 22, 2012
From the October 2012 issue of HealthCare Business News magazine
What will you be speaking about at ASTRO’s annual conference? In the presidential symposium, which is themed “transforming care through innovation,” ten speakers will address issues of advancing innovation in radiation oncology in terms of redesigning and restructuring, and not only the issues of innovations and technology, but how we deliver care as well. I’ll be speaking about health reform and changing dynamics associated with health reform and the title of that talk is “The Patient Not Treated.”
What are some of the challenges radiation therapy will face in the coming year? In the coming year, what looms largest for us right now are proposed draconian cuts in the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule, which we think are not well-founded and could dramatically impact many smaller practices, particularly rural practices and those that serve the medically underserved. We’ll know in November what the final Medicare rule says. The other challenge has to do with ongoing health care reform. Regardless of what the Supreme Court did a few months ago, or if a new administration comes in and wants to repeal the law, the health care reform train has left the station and radiation oncology, like all specialties in medicine, has to respond to this notion of accountable care and address the value proposition in health care.
How do you think radiation therapy will continue to advance? I think through innovation—through evolving and innovating the way we take care of patients, the way we do treatment delivery, and embracing the value proposition in health care. One of our keynoters [at the Annual Meeting] is one of the leaders of putting that notion out there: Michael Porter will talk about value in health care and how one redesigns and redefines health care in this new milieu. That’s how we’ll continue to advance in terms of how we take care of patients. The other part is we’ll continue to advance on the technical side—innovation on the technical side is our middle name, and then the biology behind why radiation works is becoming more and more sophisticated and better understood.
Back to HCB News
