Practice radiation patterns among oncologists in the Oncology Care Model

Area of Science:

• Oncology
• Health Services Research
• Health Economics

Background:

• The Oncology Care Model (OCM) was implemented by CMS to promote cost-efficient cancer care.
• Linking medical oncologist compensation to total care costs raised concerns about potential reductions in radiation therapy utilization.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate whether the Oncology Care Model (OCM) led to decreased utilization of radiation therapy.
• To compare radiation therapy use in practices participating in the OCM versus those that did not.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective analysis of a secondary claims-based data set from a large community oncology network.
• Utilized 5 years of reimbursement claims data, comparing OCM participant practices with non-participant practices.
• Employed difference-in-differences, event study, and triple differences regressions for quasi-experimental estimation across various cancer diagnoses.

Main Results:

• No evidence of reductions in radiation therapy utilization was found associated with the OCM.
• This finding held true for participant versus non-participant practices across all analyzed specifications and subpopulations.
• No differential effects were observed based on specific cancer types (bone metastases, lung, breast) or settings.

Conclusions:

• Despite financial incentives within the OCM that could encourage reduced radiation therapy use, no such reduction was observed.
• The Oncology Care Model did not appear to negatively impact radiation therapy utilization rates.