Where NSCLC Treatment Stalls: Staffing, Testing, and Infusion Chair Access

This episode, "Where NSCLC Treatment Stalls: Staffing, Testing, and Infusion Chair Access," features the panel examining the friction points between diagnosis and first treatment.

Dr. Cass asks where the panelists see the most friction between diagnosis and treatment for patients receiving an immune checkpoint inhibitor at their own institutions.

Dr. Lynch notes that her institution was short-staffed on the physician side for a while, which made getting patients into clinic a challenge. The persistent problem, however, is getting NGS results back and having all the key pieces available at the first visit. Often the team sees a newly diagnosed patient with perhaps 70% of the needed data. Clinicians must then discuss hypotheticals, explaining which regimen will follow depending on pending results. She says this creates delays and is not ideal for patient satisfaction.

Reflex testing protocols with her pathology group have helped return results more quickly. Still, patients who have testing at community practices often arrive with incomplete workups. She sees an opportunity to educate community partners on what complete NGS testing looks like in lung cancer. That way, the workup starts at the beginning and no one waits on results.

Dr. Luon agrees that testing is a big problem for his team too. Once results arrive, his team encounters a second obstacle in treatment chairs. A newly diagnosed patient wants treatment as soon as possible, yet the first chair can take a week and a half to two weeks to book. That wait feels like an eternity to patients, even if his center fares better than others. Infusion centers also serve other disease teams, including GI and myeloma.

Dr. Cass agrees that chair demand outpaces supply. When an institution opens a larger infusion center, she says, it still needs more chairs than it has by the time the doors open. She considers infusion chair time a forever barrier for any institution.

Up next, in "Speeding Up NSCLC Treatment: AI Scheduling, Subcutaneous Dosing, and Payer Transparency," the experts explore ideas for overcoming those barriers, from AI scheduling to payer transparency.