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Karmanos Cancer Institute/Wayne State University

 

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Karmanos Cancer Institute/Wayne State University
Detroit, Michigan

The DISCO App: A Patient-Focused Tool to Reduce Financial Toxicity

Lauren M. Hamel, PhD, Assistant Professor, Department of Oncology

The DISCO (DIScussions of COst) app educates patients with cancer about potential treatment-related costs and generates tailored questions to prompt cost-related conversations with providers. In a pilot study, the app significantly improved patients’ self-efficacy for managing treatment costs and interacting with providers while decreasing cost-related distress. Most important, 100% of these video-recorded clinic visits included a cost discussion on topics ranging from patient co-pays to transportation.

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Mobile App Eases Patient Cost-of-Care Conversations

Innovator-2021-Seal-singular-80x80Financial toxicity in oncology is a long-standing issue for patients with cancer. As increasing costs related to cancer care put financial strain on patients, so too do the indirect costs of a cancer diagnosis and treatment—travel, childcare, and other daily living needs. Lauren Hamel, PhD, assistant professor in the department of oncology at Wayne State University School of Medicine; Karmanos Cancer Institute, says “the issue of financial toxicity is one that's multifaceted and long term. We need to apply a plethora of solutions to it.”
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v37n2-How-Do-You-DISCO-220x296How Do You DISCO?

How Do You DISCO?, written by Lauren M. Hamel, PHD; David W. Dougherty, MD, MBA; Lorna Mabunda, MSI; Eyouab Tadesse; Raeann Hill; Sanjna Ghanshani; and Susan Eggly, PHD, this article focuses on how Wayne State University School of Medicine; Karmanos Cancer Institute—2021 ACCC Innovator Award winner—developed a mobile application to educate patients, and providers, about the importance of cost of care discussions.
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