GenesisCare has partnered with University of WA and St John of God Hospital – Subiaco to pilot a new program for early-stage breast cancer patients aimed at improving patient experience and outcomes while confirming the feasibility of bundling within the Australian system. The Bundle offers all the services that an early-stage breast cancer patient would typically utilise during the first year of treatment for a known, capped cost the patient of $2500 (HBF members) or $2800 (Medibank members). Services include surgery, medical oncology, radiation oncology, radiology, pathology, physiotherapy, dietetics and clinical psychology as well as a patient navigation service. By providing a Bundle with a known, capped out of pocket as well as a patient navigator and visibility of services, we aim to reduce stress and improve the outcomes and experiences of patients.
UTS’s Centre for Health Economics Research and Evaluation is independently evaluating the Pilot. The evaluation will collect clinical, service use, and financial data, ICHOM PROMs, EQ-5D, All.Can PREMS as well as interviews with patients and providers. It will compare the outcomes and experience of Bundle patients with those whose care is organised and paid for in within the current system mechanisms and assess the financial sustainability and broader applicability of the payment model. As this is the first time a Bundle to this scope has been delivered in cancer care in Australia, the evaluation findings will be disseminated broadly.
The development of the Bundle and the Evaluation has required broad collaboration with key stakeholders including clinicians, payors, policy and system advisors, and leaders in value-based health care to design the Bundle and overcome barriers to establishment. We aim to focus on the approach, barriers and lessons learned to date in the Bundle Pilot oral/ poster presentation and contribute to sharing of learnings in value-based health care.