Dr Matthew Callister: Value-Based Oncology Is a Platform for Collaboration

At the second annual Advancing Value-Based Oncology Care event held in Phoenix, Arizona, Matthew Callister, MD, Banner Health, spoke to his experience navigating the challenges of value-based oncology, as well as potential solutions to the thorny problems impacting these models’ success.

Prior to the event, Callister sat for an interview with The American Journal of Managed Care^® to discuss the benefits of value-based care and the collaboration that these models encourage.

This transcript has been lightly edited for clarity and length.

Transcript

Can you provide some context for how value-based oncology can affect patient experience, access to care, available treatments, and overall outcomes?

Obviously, the opportunities with value-based care to really improve lives and reduce costs are huge. What I'd emphasize for where we are now is that so much effort has gone into measures or to specific programs, or even payment models and so forth. I think it's time to step back and look at how can we use value-based oncology as more of a platform for collaboration to really align the key stakeholders, which are patients, providers, and payers.

How do you see advancements in technology and data analytics enhancing the implementation and effectiveness of value-based oncology care?

I think a huge opportunity that's already in place to some degree but needs to increase is how we measure appropriate utilization benefit in the last phase of a patient's life—particularly metrics around utilization of treatment in the last 15 to 30 days of life. I think expanding our access to that data [and] transparency with providers could have a significant impact on appropriate utilization and giving the providers the feedback they need to enhance their practice.

What collaborative efforts between oncologists, payers, and other stakeholders are essential for the success of value-based oncology models?

I would say value-based oncology as being the platform for collaboration. And so, a key to that is models; models that align us for the best outcomes of patients—but at the same time use resources appropriately—I think are critical. So, a deeper dive into more creative models beyond episode-based models is in dire need within value-based oncology. Another area of emphasis that I think that we can work together collaboratively on is that many of the models of managing oncology are based on episodes of how to manage a 6-month period of someone's life or so forth, or a course of radiotherapy. But missing from that equation is probably the fundamental question, did that patient really need or would they have chosen to get that course of therapy had they been properly informed in the first place? And so, I think working together on when an episode doesn't even need to begin and when we can use the tools we have at the right time in the right place is a key opportunity to collaborate between patients, payers, and providers.