High Quality, Lower Price: How Community Oncology Helps Curb Care Costs

Findings from a literature review recently published in The American Journal of Public Health suggest that greater utilization of community oncology care can substantially reduce cancer-related financial toxicity—the economic burden of care—while maintaining equivalent, and in some cases superior, quality compared with hospital-based settings.¹

In an interview with Targeted Oncology, Lucio N. Gordan, MD, Florida Cancer Specialists & Research Institute and first author of the study, comments on the study’s key findings, highlighting economic and logistical advantages of community oncology as a primary solution to financial toxicity.

Watch the first part of Dr Gordan’s interview.

Dr Gordan explains that while the cost-savings in community settings was not surprising, the magnitude of savings remains surprising, ranging from the upper 20% to the upper 70% depending on the specific study. Research indicates that costs for chemotherapy are 30% to 40% lower in community practices, while immunotherapy drugs are 25% to 30% less expensive. When scaled across the national ecosystem of thousands of clinics and millions of patients, these disparities represent potential savings in the high billions of dollars.

Crucially, these lower costs in community practices do not equate to a decrease in the quality or innovation of care. Dr Gordan emphasizes that community-based care is clinically equivalent to hospital-based systems and does not introduce additional risks to the patient. The research even demonstrates superior clinical metrics in some areas, such as shorter hospital stays and fewer emergency department visits for patients treated in community clinics.

Furthermore, the community oncology model significantly improves patient access by placing specialized care directly in the neighborhoods where patients and their families live. For payers, these practices offer a highly efficient alternative because both the costs of administration and the costs of drugs are lower than those found in hospital-based systems. By maintaining high-quality standards while drastically reducing the financial burden on the healthcare infrastructure, community oncology serves as a vital tool for ensuring the long-term sustainability of cancer care.

Read the full interview here.

REFERENCES

1. Gordan L, Singh-Bulkan HHN, Warner A, et al. The role of utilizing community oncology care to decrease cancer-related financial toxicity. Am J Public Health. 2025;14(1):1‑7. doi:10.52338/tajoph.2025.5171