Dr Omene on Decreasing Disparities in Breast Cancer

Coral O. Omene, MD, PhD, medical oncologist, Rutgers Cancer Institute, discusses the importance of a multidisciplinary, patient-focused approach to mitigating disparities in the care of patients with breast cancer.

Medical oncologists are part of a team of people, including nurses, patient navigators, and social workers, who need to work together to ensure they have identified and addressed potential barriers to effective cancer care for each of their patients, Omene says. Although a provider may effectively communicate a treatment plan to their patient, if the patient cannot follow the treatment plan because of their work schedule, for example, they may miss their appointments, Omene explains. Although this type of occurrence is termed noncompliance, patients often have valid reasons for not following their treatment schedules, Omene notes.

Knowing each patient’s potential barriers to treatment access before determining their treatment plan can help providers accommodate patient needs, according to Omene. For instance, if a patient is worried about taking time off from work, their physician might contact the patient’s employer to advocate for more time off on their behalf or suggest an equally effective treatment plan that fits better with the patient’s schedule, Omene says. If a patient is experiencing transportation issues that interfere with their ability to receive treatments, social workers can intervene, Omene suggests. Or, in the case of financial obstacles, oncologists can provide patients with information about financial resources such as coupons, Omene explains.

Providers have resources at their disposal that they can offer to their patients to help them avoid obstacles and receive the care they need, but the only way they will truly know the needs of each patient is through communication, Omene emphasizes. The responsibility to initiate these conversations should not fall on the patients, who may not address these issues unprompted, Omene notes. Instead, physicians and their teams should ask the proper questions to get to know each patient beyond their disease, Omene concludes.