 PhysicianForum --
June 2005
 In This Issue...
Historically, cancer has been one
of the few areas of medicine dominated by the use of intravenous drugs. Oral
chemotherapy treatments were viewed as inferior to intravenous therapy.
However, the climate is rapidly changing, and sales of oral chemotherapy drugs
have increased substantially over the past five years.
Due to the success of current
oral drugs and the current focus on developing targeted agents with extended
treatment durations, oral chemotherapy is likely to play a larger role in the
future treatment of cancer. This evolution, however, may be strongly affected
by the changing reimbursement environment in the United States.
The Decision Resources PhysicianForum
study "Oral Chemotherapeutic Agents: Key Success Factors and
Reimbursement Issues" explores the attributes that drive oncologists to
select an oral drug treatment for their cancer patients in the United States
and, conversely, factors that hinder the drugs' wider use. We focus on
two oral agents that enjoy wide usage: capecitabine and erlotinib. We surveyed
96 oncologists and 20 HMO pharmacy directors to assess their views on these
complex issues. This study investigates the following:
- Reasons underlying the use of the most prescribed oral chemotherapeutic
drugs.
- Attributes that influence clinician selection of an oral versus
an intravenous drug.
- Factors that hinder the wider use of oral chemotherapeutic agents.
- Estimates of patient compliance and reporting of side effects.
- Current formulary inclusions of oral chemotherapy drugs.
- HMO pharmacy directors' views on potential changes in
reimbursement environment of oral agents.
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