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Reconciling patient access to care
One of the major features of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act is its potential to insure some of the estimated 35 million Americans who are currently uninsured, without regard to whether or not they have pre-existing conditions. Of course, that will stress our already overburdened health system to provide both care and caregivers. To that end, Renteria and colleagues describe the access to care and treatment of locally advanced pancreatic cancer in a socio-economically challenged population. Their analyses reveal that it can be done but it requires, in their words, “intense supportive services,” which highlights how those with poor or little insurance can still have the outcomes similar to those in clinical trials if the system rises to the occasion and makes the extra effort to deliver the appropriate care and treatment. One can only imagine what things will be like when those 35 million have guaranteed insurance-based access to care.
*Click on the links to the left for PDFs of the full Editorial and related articles.
One of the major features of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act is its potential to insure some of the estimated 35 million Americans who are currently uninsured, without regard to whether or not they have pre-existing conditions. Of course, that will stress our already overburdened health system to provide both care and caregivers. To that end, Renteria and colleagues describe the access to care and treatment of locally advanced pancreatic cancer in a socio-economically challenged population. Their analyses reveal that it can be done but it requires, in their words, “intense supportive services,” which highlights how those with poor or little insurance can still have the outcomes similar to those in clinical trials if the system rises to the occasion and makes the extra effort to deliver the appropriate care and treatment. One can only imagine what things will be like when those 35 million have guaranteed insurance-based access to care.
*Click on the links to the left for PDFs of the full Editorial and related articles.
One of the major features of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act is its potential to insure some of the estimated 35 million Americans who are currently uninsured, without regard to whether or not they have pre-existing conditions. Of course, that will stress our already overburdened health system to provide both care and caregivers. To that end, Renteria and colleagues describe the access to care and treatment of locally advanced pancreatic cancer in a socio-economically challenged population. Their analyses reveal that it can be done but it requires, in their words, “intense supportive services,” which highlights how those with poor or little insurance can still have the outcomes similar to those in clinical trials if the system rises to the occasion and makes the extra effort to deliver the appropriate care and treatment. One can only imagine what things will be like when those 35 million have guaranteed insurance-based access to care.
*Click on the links to the left for PDFs of the full Editorial and related articles.