title: The financial burden of cancer care: do patients in the US know what to expect?
abstract: Patients in the USA face potentially high financial burdens from the costs of cancer care, distinct from the challenges of societal costs and the economic impact of the disease itself. Survey data suggest that many physicians, let alone many patients, are uninformed about the costs of cancer care. Greater cost transparency and both physician and patient education will be necessary to improve patient understanding of costs and to reduce financial burdens. While many patients wish to discuss costs of care, few report such conversations, and there is no consensus on the optimal setting, timing, content or goals for such discussions. This paper reviews the challenge of appropriately educating patients regarding financial burdens of cancer.
authors.affiliation: Duke Cancer Survivorship Center, Division of Medical Oncology, Duke University Medical Center, Box #3446, Durham, NC 27710, USA.
authors.forename: Jeffrey
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Peppercorn
mesh_terms: D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D001364:Awareness; D017046:Cost Savings; D017281:Cost of Illness; D003362:Cost-Benefit Analysis; D017048:Health Care Costs; D005102:Health Expenditures; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006295:Health Resources / Q000191:economics* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000191:economics* / Q000628:therapy*; D010353:Patient Education as Topic
keywords: cancer; costs; financial burden; medical decision-making; patient education