HUB Support Services and the Impact on Cancer Care

Conference Correspondent

Pharmaceutical manufacturers and providers rely on HUB programs and support services to ensure that cancer care is delivered on time and efficiently. Charles Stevens, JD, MBA, Chief Operating Officer at COPILOT, and moderator of the November 2 webcast session of the Association for Value-Based Cancer Care (AVBCC) 10th Annual Summit, said that HUB programs are the voice of the brand and the manufacturer.

As new therapeutics become more personalized, HUB programs need to mirror these therapies. Susan Raiola, President of Real Endpoints, LLC, said that HUB programs serve as a way to hold the hand of a patient during treatment, and that the good programs are the ones that are individualized to patients.

From a patient perspective, Kelly Franchetti, RN, CCRN, CEN, Vice President and Global Head of Patient Insights & Strategy at YPrime, said that patients and healthcare providers alike need more education. Patients and their care partners have a lot to navigate but are unaware of the many services that manufacturers are providing. According to results of an Accenture survey, only 40% of healthcare providers are aware of patient services offered.

Elizabeth Oyekan, PharmD, FCHSP, CPHQ, Vice President of the Access Experience Team at PRECISIONvalue, expressed concern over the decrease in screenings resulting from limited mobility and the loss of healthcare coverage caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. She said that there has also been an increase in anxiety and social isolation among patients. A study performed by Accenture showed 70% of patients deferring or canceling treatment.

“One of the positives of telemedicine, especially for people who can’t get transportation themselves and need to have those visits, is that they can now do that in new ways they hadn’t thought of in the past. Resistance to wearables has gone down within the pandemic, so there can be more monitoring that can be done, more data that can be captured,” said Jodie McVan, MBA, Vice President of Agency Services and Operations at Mirador Global LP.

Ms McVan continued by saying that although there have been some positives in innovation, there is still a large demographic in oncology that is not tech-savvy.

Other hot topics in today’s webcast included increases in drug cost, common HUB program challenges, and accumulator programs.

There is still time to register for the AVBCC Summit! The 10-week agenda is packed with timely insights and no-holds-barred debates that you need to understand today’s cancer care ecosystem and trends for the future.

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