In 2014, ASCO published data on the impact of site of service and chemotherapy costs. In this updated study, ASCO takes another look at the shift towards to the hospital outpatient department (HOPD) setting and the subsequent impact on costs in commercially insured patients. Specifically, ASCO examined chemotherapy claims by a large national payor from February 2019 through January 2020 for breast, colon, and lung (BCL) cancer patients and compared these to chemotherapy claims for BCL patients from July 2013 through June 2014.
The study found the following:
- In the claims from February 2019 through January 2020, 56% received chemotherapy in the HOPD setting and 44% received chemotherapy in the physician office setting; this is a significant shift from 2014, where where 24% received chemotherapy in the HOPD setting and 76% received chemotherapy in the physician office setting.
- When examining costs per patient by site of service, there was a statistically significant increase in HOPD costs from $35,460 to $45,273 per patient and a statistically significant increase in O costs from $21,577 to $28,270 per patient treated in 2014 compared to 2020.
- With the significant increase in patients receiving chemotherapy in the HOPD compared to the physician office and the higher cost of care in the HOPD, this trend has led to substantially higher costs of care for patients treated with chemotherapy in the HOPD compared to the physician office.
Read the full study here.