For the past two decades, the National Cancer Institute has documented that African-American patients have consistently had lower survival rates in colon cancer when compared with white patients. In a study published today in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, lead author Kim Rhoads, MD, PhD, and colleagues from Stanford show that receiving high quality, evidence-based treatment can eliminate this racial disparity. As Rhoads explains in our press release:
Historically, we've taken less than a critical eye on our own health-care system in terms of how we can take the lead in addressing disparities. The big take away in this paper is that it's treatment, not necessarily patient factors, but following evidence-based guidelines that gives all patients the best chance for survival. Our work also suggests a real opportunity to equalize these racial differences.
The evidence-based guidelines were created by the National Comprehension Cancer Network, which used clinical trials and medical research to create step-by-step, evidence-based treatments for most cancers. However, adherence to those guidelines depends on the facility and research shows that minority patients tend to receive care from hospitals that have low adherence rates.
The study found that integrated health-care organizations, which provide all of a patient's health-care services, hospital care and insurance, delivered evidence-based care for colon cancer at a higher rate than non-integrated health-care organizations. In these facilities, all patients had higher survival rates and racial disparity for colon cancer survival disappeared.
"In integrated systems, there's already a big push to thinking about following evidence-based guidelines, so everyone within that system is in the same mindset," said co-author Manali Patel, MD, MPH. "It's easier to do the right thing when you have the system-level support to do so."
Integrated health-care systems are well suited for coordinating care among several specialists, which is another advantage for colon-cancer patients, because the treatment of colon cancer requires different types of treatments and different types of specialists, the study pointed out.
The results support the development of integrated health care models as envisioned by Affordable Care Act.
"With health-care reform, millions more patients are coming into the system, and we're going to need to become more integrated in order to meet the demand. We're going to need to work more closely together, decrease variations in care and standardize what we do," Rhoads told me. "In this paper, we have a model that shows that when you do this, you get better colon cancer outcomes for everyone."
Previously: Stanford researchers examine disparities in use of quality cancer centers, Uncommon hero: A young oncologist fights for more humane cancer care and Report shows continuing health disparities for racial and ethnic minorities
