A Cardinal Health survey found 80 percent of oncologists say inequities exist throughout the healthcare system, and nearly half said those inequities are especially prevalent in cancer care.
Cardinal Health surveyed nearly 200 oncologists from community- and hospital-based practices between September and November 2022.
The survey found 43 percent of oncologists said white providers have unconscious racial bias that impact non-white patients. Three-fourths reported they would benefit from additional research and education about healthcare inequity.
Here are four more survey findings:
- Nearly 4 out of 5 participating oncologists don't use any metrics in their practices to track the race or ethnicity of their patients.
- Seventy-one percent of participating oncologists most often use traditional phone calls for post-treatment follow-ups with patients instead of patient portals.
- Only 25 percent reported offering transitional care management services to help prevent patients from being readmitted to the hospital.
- About two-thirds of participating oncologists care for patients who qualify for patient care management services yet. Only 3 percent of participating oncologists were certain whether their practices had ever billed for PCM services, while 74 percent were not familiar with PCM and its eligibility criteria for patients with cancer.