The breakthrough in cancer research not only happened when they can already manage and treat some types of cancers. It also happened when they studied early detection, warning signs, and even home screening kits. These allow cancer patients or anyone else who is at risk of getting cancer to figure out the best way to move forward. But while screening tests and early detection kits brought many benefits to cancer patients, there is a challenge behind the scenes. How will this affect hospital workflow, diagnosis, insurance coverage, and reimbursement?

As much as big players such as Jeff Bezos and Bill Gates, as well as Johnson & Johnson, Bristol-Myers Squibb, and Merck & Co., threw their hats into the fray, there remain to be apprehensions in the health care industry primarily because of the lack of primary care coordination. People have been taking matters into their own hands. They are purchasing the best at-home colon cancer test. They see this as one of the most scientifically proven effective home test kits for cancer.

Lack of Recommended Screening

But what about in health care facilities or in communities where they are unaware of the existence and the availability of home screen tests? The numbers are quite depressing. Of the 50 types of cancers that can be detected in their early state, 45 have no recommended screening. If your cancer falls under that number and you don’t seek early detection, you will miss the chance of addressing the disease early on.

Unfortunately, that miss isn’t like missing the train to work where you’ll be a few minutes late, and everything will be fine and dandy. The non-detection of cancer early will lead to terminal illnesses and expensive medical procedures. Studies showed that about 70% to 79% of all cancer deaths in the United States occur in types of cancers that do not have a recommended screening test at all.

The problem with the health care system is that it is not designed for early detection and warning. It is not aggressive in its aim to improve the quality of life of the people. Instead, it is reactionary. It is defensive in the sense that the doctors will draw up a management plan once cancer has been detected in its later stages. By then, the quality of life of the patients has been severely degraded. They will only have a few good months or years before them.

Problems with Preexisting Conditions and Reimbursements

The lack of recommendation for early screening ties closely to health insurance. People are not willing to pay for multiple-cancer detection. Remember that right after an early detection colon test that costs roughly around $600, the next step for them would be a colonoscopy procedure to confirm the result. The problem exacerbates when their insurance doesn’t cover these tests. And more, when in the future, new health insurance policies will consider these as preexisting conditions outside their coverage.

People are very sensitive to having to pay for anything from their pockets. Unless their insurance covers the entire process of early screening for multiple cancers or even for specific cancer that you think you are at risk, most people will not want to pay from their own wallets. But that is not the only problem with the expenses incurred for early cancer screening. The reimbursement process will be complicated, too. Insurance companies are not clear yet on what other types of screening they will and can cover.

Issues Surrounding Doctors’ Workflow

The field of medicine is very complex, but physicians follow a certain workflow, to say the least. Early detection of certain types of cancers will surely disrupt this workflow. Are they open to it? They already have a protocol to follow in terms of managing and treating cancers to improve the quality of life of the patients. Although doctors will want what’s best for their patients, a change in their habits will impact the routines they’ve managed to build. This will, of course, also have a considerable effect on the level of care that cancer patients will receive from their doctors.

There is no reason why health care facilities and physicians should turn their backs on the advances of technology in terms of detecting diseases earlier. But there is also a certain degree of understanding needed on why it might take some time before the whole system adapts these early interventions. Because in as much as these early detection innovations will revolutionize how the medical industry will deal with cancer, there are also logistical, technical, financial, and social constraints that must be considered.