New study shows Elsevier’s ClinicalPath can help support oncologists to improve outcomes for oncology patients and manage the cost of care

Research undertaken by Cone Health, a private not-for-profit integrated healthcare network, has shown how Elsevier’s ClinicalPath helps supported their oncologists to improve the outcomes of oncology patients while managing the cost of care.  The analysis was compiled in an abstract¹ submitted to and accepted by the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) for presentation at their 2023 annual conference.

Cone Health comprises of five hospitals and several ambulatory care centers, outpatient surgery centers, physician practices, a retirement community and urgent care centers. The healthcare network is also home to the Cone Health Cancer Center, which provides comprehensive cancer care spanning six cancer centers with more than thirty cancer specialists across the Cone Health Network.

ClinicalPath, an evidence-based oncology decision support tool, presents treatment guidance within the clinical workflow.  Cone Health Cancer Center began using ClinicalPath in 2016 to support their clinicians with the tools needed to make consistent, well-informed decisions for high-quality care.

The study looked at outcomes and costs for patients treated between 2017 and 2022 and compared the 1,819 diagnosed and staged cases of cancer for where the ClinicalPath treatment recommendations were followed to the 4,095 cases for which the recommendations were either not used or not followed through to completion.  Of those cases, 509 cases were matched across both experimental conditions by year of diagnosis, site of cancer, clinical stage, goal of treatment and other co-morbidities to ensure case matches were comparable.

The research team documented patient survival rates as well as the variable direct costs of care for each patient in the study.  The ASCO poster session(opens in new tab/window) detailed their findings. When clinicians used ClinicalPath to provide decision support, the researchers found that patients documented as on-pathway in ClinicalPath were half as likely to die within three, six or 12 months compared to cases when ClinicalPath was not consulted at all or was only partially leveragedⁱ.  In addition, though the direct variable cost of care went up when clinicians followed the recommendations provided by ClinicalPath due to drugs and other treatments prompted by the pathway, the use of evidence-based guidelines in ClinicalPath was associated with a positive influence on reimbursement – on average, the contribution margin increased by 74% when oncologists used ClinicalPath¹.

The research was led by Monica Schmidt, MPH, PhD, Executive Director of Health Economics and Health Equity Analytics at Cone Health.  Dr. Schmidt said: “We hypothesized that we would see improved short-term outcomes for patients.  We were pleased that from the time patients received their first treatment for their cancer, they were more likely to survive all the way through 12 months if their oncologist managed care with decision support from ClinicalPath pathways.”

Josh Schoeller, President of Clinical Solutions at Elsevier said: “We are very proud of ClinicalPath and love to hear from customers who are improving patient outcomes by leveraging our solutions.  Alongside the need to support oncologists and other clinicians to improve patient outcomes, we are sensitive to the financial pressures facing administrators as costs across healthcare continue to rise.  The value of Cone Health’s research is the demonstration that better care and lower costs aren’t mutually exclusive – we are delighted to have been able to partner with them to support their teams to improve outcomes while managing costs.”

The research was presented at the ASCO 2023 Conference which took place in Chicago from June 2-6. You can download a copy of the full study here(opens in new tab/window).

¹ Schmidt, M. 2023. The impact of using Elsevier ClinicalPath oncology treatment pathways on survival and cost of care. [Poster].ASCO Annual Conference, 2-6 June, McCormick Place. Available from: https://meetings.asco.org/abstracts-presentations/221866(opens in new tab/window)

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About ClinicalPath

ClinicalPath (formerly Via Oncology) provides industry-leading oncology pathways used by health systems, academic medical centers, and private practices across the US and globally. Designed to help reduce variability in care and support clinicians to achieve optimal patient outcomes, ClinicalPath is delivered at the point of care, using a workflow-embedded decision support tool and advanced EHR integration. ClinicalPath’s treatment recommendations are prioritized based on efficacy, toxicity and cost by a nationwide committee of oncologists.

About Elsevier

As a global leader in scientific information and analytics, Elsevier helps researchers and healthcare professionals advance science and improve health outcomes for the benefit of society. We do this by facilitating insights and critical decision-making with innovative solutions based on trusted, evidence-based content and advanced AI-enabled digital technologies.

We have supported the work of our research and healthcare communities for more than 140 years. Our 9,500 employees around the world, including 2,500 technologists, are dedicated to supporting researchers, librarians, academic leaders, funders, governments, R&D-intensive companies, doctors, nurses, future healthcare professionals and educators in their critical work. Our 2,900 scientific journals and iconic reference books include the foremost titles in their fields, including Cell Press, The Lancet and Gray’s Anatomy.

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