Karen Knudsen MBA PhD’s Post

ACS CAN applauds today's decision to uphold access to no-cost preventive services, protecting coverage for 150 million people. The court clearly heard and took into account the potential impact on patients, with numerous references to amicus filings. A recent American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN) survey showed the majority of cancer patients and survivors surveyed selected protecting access to no-cost preventive services as their top policy priority, and cancer survivors would be less likely to access recommended screening if cost-sharing was involved. Cost-free access to preventive services is critical to the health of millions nationwide, giving them the best chance at early intervention. ACS CAN remains concerned about some elements of the underlying decision and will continue to advocate to ensure everyone can access these lifesaving services. 

ACS CAN and over a dozen #PublicHealth organizations applaud today's decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit to uphold the critical patient protections in the #AffordableCareAct for the vast majority of individuals covered. This decision by the Fifth Circuit protects continued, broad access to cost-free preventive services for more than 150 million eligible individuals, and specifically notes amicus briefs such as the one filed by our groups, providing scientific data on the importance of #PreventiveServices. We know coverage of recommended preventive services without cost-sharing has saved millions of lives from chronic diseases like cancer. cc: American Cancer Society, American Kidney Fund, Arthritis Foundation, CancerCare, Cancer Support Community, Crohn's & Colitis Foundation, Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, Epilepsy Foundation, Hemophilia Federation of America, The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, National Minority Quality Forum, National MS Society, National Patient Advocate Foundation, The AIDS Institute, WomenHeart: The National Coalition for Women with Heart Disease Read the full statement:

More than ever, cancer patients are increasingly old, and so are cancer survivors. It’s critical that we have policy provisions in place to support this shift and ensure that our health systems are equipped to support population needs.   We can learn much from super-aging Japan, and how they are developing policies that can support their population through these challenges – including supporting patient choice through shared decision-making in cancer care. Read some more thoughts on the topic here: https://lnkd.in/e4hky-ck

A recent article, led by RTI researchers Benjamin Allaire and Lisa M. Lines, PhD, MPH, finds that higher patient-reported measures of care coordination and patient-provider communication are associated with lower Medicare expenditures among beneficiaries with and without cancer. As the number of people affected by cancer grows, these results are a first step in looking at the role of coordination and communication in improving their multifaceted care. Read more in the Journal of Geriatric Oncology: https://lnkd.in/eFDC8bYc

Lung cancer screening - participation is key! So far the main hurdle for #lungcancerscreening was to start programs - political decision making and financing were the main frontiers to work on. There we jointly achieved strong progress: More and more countries include lung cancer in their national screening programs, slowly but steadily. This leads us to the next topic to work on: Obviously screening only works if people participate, and participation in #lungcancerscreening is underwhelming in some regions, specifically the United States. The attached charts compares participation rates in various regions and projects - this "benchmarking" provides some hints on success factors: - The record holder is a project in the Tartu region of Estonia, lead by Tanel Laisaar. This is maybe not as well known as it should be, being a great example: There the general pracitioners/family physicians (GPs) actively called ALL people in the respective age group by phone and discussed smoking status and lung screening. This led to the sensational 79% participation (source in comments). - Good results in UK: The pilot programs there achieve 30%-40%. Key factors are strong involvement of GPs, and active invitation of complete age cohorts for targeted lung health checks, which is mainly a questionnaire to identify lung cancer risk, and then targeted invitations of high risk persond for CT - US is overall low, the reasons are known. However, there are projects showing much better results: Michael Gieske published a participation rate of almost 50% within the St. Elizabeth Healthcare System (SEHC) in Kentucky. What do we learn from this? 1. The target population needs to be actively approached. Just waiting for them to show up doesn't work. We know from other screening programs the risk factors for low screening participation: Male gender, lower education level, low health awareness and low income. These are strongly linked to nicotine addiction in most regions. Being aware of this specific challenge helps to solve it. Maybe that's a strength of Kentucky - being aware that it's a challenge from the beginning. 2. GPs (family doctors) are key. It was a big shortfall in the US that the Association of Family Physicians recommended screening so late. UK, SEHC and Tartu all had strong involvement of GPs from start. This should be considered by all future screening programs. 3. As you (usually) don't have an address list of all smokers, you have to approach the age cohort (indepently of risk) with a low-threshold offering. This can be a lung health check like in UK, or a phone call from the GP, like in Tartu. It doesn't necessarily need a physician to do it. Of course this is some effort, but manageable, as we see in these programs. As more data from more programs comes in, we will learn more and see more successful approaches - I expect them to confirm the three points above, but add more success factors.

People in South Yorkshire with ‘red flag’ bowel cancer symptoms could be fast-tracked to hospital for diagnostic tests 🚩 Researchers at the University of Sheffield are leading a new study exploring the use of community pharmacies for faster bowel cancer detection in South Yorkshire. This innovative approach could revolutionise early diagnosis. The trial allows patients with potential bowel cancer symptoms to bypass the GP and access home testing kits directly through participating pharmacies. This not only benefits patients by expediting their care journey, but also helps alleviate pressure on the NHS. This study, funded by Yorkshire Cancer Research, has the potential to significantly impact public health outcomes and healthcare efficiency. https://lnkd.in/e6aRBRES #BowelCancer #HealthcareInnovation #NHSEfficiency #YorkshireCancerResearch

Cancer waiting time targets could be scrapped in England – Sky News comments on how the existing targets could be replaced with a faster diagnosis standard. This states that patients who have been urgently referred should have cancer ruled out or receive a diagnosis within 28 days. At present there is a target for patients to see a specialist within two weeks. These new proposals are being looked at NHS England has confirmed. Cancer Research UK has said that the proposed new targets should lead to improvements in diagnosis.   Click here to read the full Sky News story https://lnkd.in/g5UrPaxK If you believe you have been a victim of negligence regarding maternity treatment or medical negligence in general then speak with one of Powell Eddison Freeman & Wilks Solicitors Medical and Personal Injury experts on 01423 564551 or click here to learn more https://lnkd.in/e6EFddqR #PowellEddison #Harrogate #MedicalNegligence #Solicitors  #Medneg

A key five-year Bowel Cancer Australia campaign has reached a milestone with updated clinical practice guidelines lowering the bowel cancer screening start age recently endorsed by the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC).    It has been years of tireless advocacy, and we remain grateful to our passionate team of advocates for their support in raising awareness of early onset bowel cancer.    1,716 Australians are diagnosed with bowel cancer under the age of 50 each year. People aged 40-49 account for 56 percent of new cases and 64 percent of deaths in those diagnosed under 50.    For the first time, population screening (for people at average risk, without symptoms) is recommended for people aged 45-74 (previously 50-74), along with a drop in the National Bowel Cancer Screening Program (NBCSP) start age from 50 to 45.     People aged 40-44 (previously 45-49) are also able to request screening every two years via their GP prior to receiving their first NBCSP invitation.    However, work remains, and we are now calling on the Federal Government to approve, fund and implement a lower NBCSP screening start age to stop people dying from early-onset bowel cancer.    Youthfulness should not be a barrier to timely diagnosis, so it is equally imperative the updated guidance for people aged 40-44 is implemented by healthcare professionals.     While we recognise lowering screening guidelines is one step forward for people aged 40 and over, it doesn’t address the rise in early-onset bowel cancer.    We still don’t know why younger people are getting bowel cancer.    What we do know, is that people under the age of 50 have an increased risk of developing bowel cancer when they experience one or more symptoms of abdominal pain, rectal bleeding, diarrhoea, and iron deficiency anaemia between 3 months and 2 years prior to diagnosis.    Younger people need to be aware of, and act on, these potential signs and symptoms and have them investigated to rule out bowel cancer as an underlying cause.    If you have any new or concerning symptoms, discuss them with your GP immediately regardless of age.    #BowelCancerAustralia #BowelCancer #Never2Young #N2Y 

What is a Pap test? A Pap test detects cervical cancer in patients with a cervix. This is your first step in lowering your chance of cervical cancer. This includes transgender, gender non-conforming, or Two-Spirit Native patients. Use the American Indian Cancer Foundation's (AICAF) Pap Test Resource to learn more: https://ow.ly/jy4z50Q5Hg0 #cervicalcancer #cervicalcancerawareness #cervicalcancerprevention #screeningsaveslives

Through my experience, I have come to understand why patients are demanding treatment well beyond it’s appropriate use. Oncology treatment teams’ main goal is targeting cancer through treatment. Survivorship and palliative care sees cancer through a lens of quality of life which includes psychological support. Meaning based psychotherapy was created for those with advanced cancer to allow for processing and reflection around mortality. This intervention prepares patients and decreases distress when transition to hospice care is appropriate. Cancer patients are reluctant to start palliative care at time of diagnosis due to a it’s image. Newly diagnosed individuals are hopeful and would prefer to engage in survivorship care which includes psychological support but also promotes wellness and lifestyle changes that have been shown through research to improve outcomes from treatment. We must have supportive care teams in place that are available for those living for years with metastatic disease. I have found that my survivorship program greatly benefited those metastatic patients that I treated from diagnosis. I was then able to transition them into palliative care when appropriate. There are solutions. Who will implement them? #survivorship #quality of life