Adherence to Integrative Care, Oncology Healthcare Utilization, Opioid Use and Hospitalization

Area of Science:

• Integrative Oncology
• Cancer Care
• Pharmacoeconomics

Background:

• Limited research exists on the impact of integrative oncology (IO) programs on chemotherapy dispensing and hospitalization rates.
• Understanding these associations is crucial for optimizing supportive care in cancer patients.

Purpose of the Study:

• To examine the relationship between adherence to integrative oncology care and medication dispensing (chemotherapy, supportive drugs) and hospitalization rates in cancer patients.
• To compare outcomes between patients with high adherence to integrative care (high-AIC) and low adherence (low-AIC).

Main Methods:

• Retrospective analysis of data from a prospective, controlled pragmatic trial involving cancer patients treated with taxane and/or platinum-based agents.
• Patients were categorized as high-AIC (≥4 sessions at 6 weeks) or low-AIC (0-3 sessions).
• Outcomes analyzed included medication dispensing, hospitalization rates, emergency room visits, and hospitalization days using generalized linear regression models.

Main Results:

• No significant differences were observed in dispensing rates for chemotherapy agents, non-opioid analgesics, or anxiolytics between high-AIC and low-AIC groups at 12 weeks.
• High-AIC patients showed significantly fewer dispensed opioid prescriptions (RR=0.50), lower hospitalization rates (OR=0.59), and fewer hospitalization days (RR=0.53) compared to low-AIC patients.
• Emergency room visit rates were similar between the two groups.

Conclusions:

• Adherence to integrative oncology care was associated with reduced opioid utilization and fewer hospitalizations among chemotherapy-treated cancer patients at 12 weeks.
• Chemotherapy drug dispensing remained similar between adherence groups.
• Further prospective and randomized studies are warranted to explore the multifaceted relationship between IO adherence, quality of life, opioid use, and hospitalization.