{"doi":"10.1200/jco.23.00993","title":"Economic Evaluation of a Nonmedical Financial Assistance Program on Missed Treatment Appointments Among Adults With Cancer","abstract":"PURPOSE: We retrospectively evaluated the clinical and economic impact of a program providing nonmedical financial assistance on missed treatment appointments among patients receiving cancer treatment at a large, Southeastern public hospital system. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We used patient electronic health records, program records, and cancer registry data to examine the impact of the program on rates of missed (or no-show) radiation therapy and infusion chemotherapy/immunotherapy appointments in the 180 days after treatment initiation. We used propensity weighting to estimate the effect of the program, stratified by treatment appointment type (radiation therapy, infusion chemotherapy/immunotherapy). We developed a decision tree-based economic model to conduct a cost-consequence analysis from the health system perspective in a hypothetical cohort over a 6-month time horizon. RESULTS: Of 1,347 patients receiving radiation therapy between 2015 and 2019, 53% (n = 715) had ≥1 no-shows and 28% (n = 378) received program assistance. Receipt of any assistance was associated with a 2.1 percentage point (95% CI, 0.6 to 3.5) decrease in the proportion of no-shows, corresponding to a 51% decrease in the overall mean no-show proportion. Under the current funding model, the program is estimated to save the health system $153 in US dollars per missed appointment averted, relative to not providing nonmedical financial assistance. Of the 1,641 patients receiving infusion chemotherapy/immunotherapy, 33% (n = 541) received program assistance, and only 14% (n = 223) had ≥1 no-shows. The financial assistance program did not have a significant effect on no-show proportions among infusion visits. CONCLUSION: This study used a novel approach to retrospectively evaluate a nonmedical financial assistance program for patients undergoing active cancer treatment. Findings support investment in programs that address patients' nonmedical financial needs, particularly for those undergoing intensive radiation therapy.","journal":"Journal of Clinical Oncology","year":2023,"id":348634,"datarank":0.37273599746820013,"base_score":2.4849066497880004,"endowment":2.4849066497880004,"self_citation_contribution":0.37273599746820013,"citation_network_contribution":0.0,"self_endowment_contribution":0.37273599746820013,"citer_contribution":0.0,"corpus_percentile":null,"corpus_rank":null,"citation_count":11,"citer_count":0,"citers_with_citation_signal":0,"citers_with_endowment":0,"datacite_reuse_total":0,"is_dataset":false,"is_dataset_confidence":0.9146,"is_data_producer":false,"deposit_databanks":null,"is_oa":true,"file_count":0,"downloads":0,"has_version_chain":false,"published_date":"2023-01-01","fair_score":null,"fair_percentile":null,"algorithm_id":"datarank_citation_only_1hop_v6","ranking_scope":"data_only","authors":[{"id":322355,"name":"Lisa P. Spees","orcid":"0000-0002-5680-9330","position":1,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":387635,"name":"Justin G. Trogdon","orcid":"0000-0001-5484-7870","position":2,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":340409,"name":"Erin E. Kent","orcid":"0000-0003-2503-2191","position":3,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":388670,"name":"Donald L. Rosenstein","orcid":"0000-0002-8611-8012","position":4,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":702376,"name":"Rebekah Angove","orcid":"0000-0003-3832-1670","position":5,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":1091859,"name":"Cindy D. Rogers","orcid":null,"position":6,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":387633,"name":"Stephanie B. Wheeler","orcid":"0000-0002-3399-9047","position":7,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":416200,"name":"Caitlin B. Biddell","orcid":"0000-0002-1644-7187","position":0,"is_corresponding":true}],"reference_count":20,"raw_metadata":{"citation_network_status":"fetched"},"created_at":"2026-07-19T01:12:10.335697Z","pmid":"37897261","pmcid":null,"fwci":null,"citation_percentile":null,"influential_citations":0,"oa_status":null,"license":null,"views":0,"total_file_size_bytes":0,"version_count":0,"fair_f":null,"fair_a":null,"fair_i":null,"fair_r":null,"fair_zscore":null,"fair_rationale":null,"fair_model":null,"fair_agent_version":null,"fair_fulltext_source":null,"fair_has_llm":null,"fair_computed_at":null,"clinical_trials":[],"software_tools":[],"db_accessions":[],"linked_datasets":[],"topics":[]}