MEGAN VARLOW Acting Chief Executive Officer & Director, Cancer Control Policy, Cancer Council Australia
Relieving the financial burden of cancer What is the role of the health service?
The recently introduced Standard for Informed Financial Consent will help health professionals in their conversations with cancer patients regarding the costs of care. If adopted and engaged with across our health system, the Standard has the potential to address the bill shock too commonly associated with healthcare, and improve the wellbeing of the many patients who experience financial stress as a result of their cancer care. However, a collaborative and integrated effort is key to achieving these important outcomes. Australia’s health system produces some of the best cancer outcomes in the world, but not all Australians experience these outcomes equally. Evidence indicates that a patient’s financial status remains a strong indicator of their cancer outcomes;
the poorest among us are at 37% more likely to die from cancer than the wealthiest. We are beginning to understand just how much individuals contribute in out-of-pocket costs to their treatment, the stress that a cancer diagnosis and these costs can place on household finances, and the deleterious pressure that actual costs, and fear of potential costs, can have on important health and financial decisions.
The complexity of choice in cancer care While the benefits of Australia’s mixed public/ private healthcare system are well recognised, a choice-based system means some patients may inadvertently be faced with bill shock if they are not properly informed or supported to make decisions about their care.
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The Health Advocate • NOVEMBER 2020
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