Financial impact and affordability of medicines is the number one concern for oncologists in our 2019 Leadership research in ImmunoOncology. Oncologists were asked to choose their top three areas (from a list of fourteen attributes) for corporate leaders to improve most over the next few years.
The sentiment is especially pronounced in the United States where almost half (47%) of the surveyed oncologists worry about the financial impact of oncology medications on the healthcare system and patients. In Europe, the concerns are also shared by a large group of oncologists (37%), and equally viewed as the most concerning aspect affecting corporate leadership moving forward. This coincides with the debate on the value of medicines picking up speed on both continents, and in Europe, more regulators and payors are working together on joint HTA assessments and cross-border purchasing (e.g. BeNeLuxA initiative).
While financial considerations do not materially influence treatment decisions of oncologists, the rising cost of medications is an ever-present worry. The surveyed oncologists fear insufficient value may have a toxic financial effect on the overall healthcare system.
Earlier and accelerated access
Oncologists in our research would like to see better and earlier access to innovative treatments for their patients.
In line with our findings from last week, 
patient support programs play an important role in making a difference for patients. Aligning your patient support program with the needs of healthcare professionals while further help to alleviate widely held concerns of “financial toxicity”. Communications and marketing functions also need to improve their messages and materials to better communicate value – see our detailed analysis to the right.
Follow our future releases to find out more about better stakeholder management and engagement using digital tools.
Key takeaways:
- Value of cancer medicines is primary concern for oncologists
- Early access schemes do make a difference to patients
- Align patient support programs with value messaging
About the study
The 2019 Leadership Study was conducted with 100 oncologists across US and EU using MDOutlook’s proprietary ONCpulse™ service.
The research objectives were to:
- Define the meaning of “corporate leadership” to the oncology community
- Reveal the leaders in oncology and ImmunoOncology (IO) and to compare / contrast how companies are evaluated by oncologists
- Assess current drivers & barriers to ImmunoOncology treatment use and identify what oncologists would like to see improved by corporate leaders in the IO space
Please contact us if you wish to be included in the distribution of the study.
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