US healthcare not prepared to treat cancer case increase

Barriers to excellent U.S. cancer care remain daunting as the number cancer cases rises from 1.6 million to some 2.3 million in 2022, a non-profit group says. A report by The Institute of Medicine, an independent, non-profit organization, said the U.S. cancer care delivery system is in crisis due to a growing demand for cancer care, increasing complexity of treatment, a shrinking workforce and rising costs. The IMO convened a committee of experts to examine the quality of U.S. cancer care and to formulate recommendations for improvement. The report, "Delivering High-Quality Cancer Care: Charting a New Course for a System in Crisis" presented the committee's findings and recommendations. All stakeholders -- including cancer care teams, patients, their families, researchers, quality metrics developers, payers, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, federal agencies and industries -- must re-evaluate their current roles and responsibilities in cancer care and work together to develop a higher quality cancer care delivery system, the report said.